Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) had its target price increased by Truist Financial from $995.00 to $1,042.00 in a research report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a hold rating on the retailer's stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Cfra Research raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST traded up $40.04 on Friday, hitting $1,048.78. The company had a trading volume of 5,400,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,061,175. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $788.20 and a 1-year high of $1,078.24. The stock has a market cap of $465.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The company's fifty day moving average price is $983.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $975.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.36%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Miramar Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.