Costco Wholesale's (COST) "Outperform" Rating Reiterated at Telsey Advisory Group

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $1,100.00 target price on the retailer's stock.

COST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $4.54 during trading on Monday, reaching $999.04. 1,826,061 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,033,922. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $715.32 and a 12-month high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $443.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.66, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $963.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $957.40.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock valued at $9,140,195 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer's stock worth $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.