Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Equities researchers at DA Davidson raised their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for Costco Wholesale in a report issued on Thursday, May 9th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings of $3.34 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.33. DA Davidson currently has a "Neutral" rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $15.84 per share.
COST has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Tigress Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to an "accumulate" rating and set a $775.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $694.48.
Get Our Latest Research Report on Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $8.15 on Friday, reaching $787.19. 1,651,904 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,659,794. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $732.23 and a 200-day moving average of $677.29. The firm has a market cap of $349.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.77.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer's stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. Enterprise Financial Services Corp grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer's stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,276,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Arlington Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,295 shares of the retailer's stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.35%.
Costco Wholesale Company Profile
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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.
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