Recent Investment Analysts’ Ratings Updates for Costco Wholesale (COST)

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) recently:

• 12/12/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its price target raised by analysts at Raymond James from $990.00 to $1,030.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 12/12/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its price target raised by analysts at Evercore ISI from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 12/12/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its price target raised by analysts at UBS Group AG from $840.00 to $1,040.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/10/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc.. They now have a $1,075.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $980.00.
• 12/5/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its price target raised by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $975.00 to $1,075.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 12/5/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its price target raised by analysts at Telsey Advisory Group from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 12/5/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $850.00 to $950.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 12/5/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its price target raised by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc. from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/5/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its price target raised by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $935.00 to $1,000.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 11/29/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Telsey Advisory Group. They now have a $1,000.00 price target on the stock.
• 11/18/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $980.00 to $1,075.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 11/4/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Telsey Advisory Group. They now have a $1,000.00 price target on the stock.
• 10/22/2024 – Costco Wholesale is now covered by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock.
• 10/17/2024 – Costco Wholesale had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Tigress Financial. They now have a $1,065.00 price target on the stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.6 %

NASDAQ:COST opened at $988.39 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12-month low of $630.30 and a 12-month high of $1,007.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $922.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $882.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $437.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 28.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.