Evercore ISI Increases Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $820.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Evercore ISI from $810.00 to $820.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Evercore ISI currently has an outperform rating on the retailer's stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on COST. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $800.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, May 6th. StockNews.com lowered Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $695.08.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $2.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $777.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,327,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,010,771. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $476.75 and a 1 year high of $789.48. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $733.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $682.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $345.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The company's revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 15.85 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.35%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other 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 value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value 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 $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer's stock worth $729,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the first 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. Enterprise Financial Services Corp grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $3,276,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.