Costco Wholesale - COST Stock Forecast, Price & News

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain, France, Iceland, China, and Taiwan. It offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories. The company offers sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, liquor, and tobacco and deli products; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, garden and patio products, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal products, office supplies, automotive care products, postages, tickets, apparel, small appliances, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products. It also operates pharmacies, opticals, food courts, hearing-aid centers, and tire installation centers, as well as 636 gas stations; and offers business delivery, travel, same-day grocery, and various other services online in various countries. As of August 29, 2021, the company operated 815 membership warehouses, including 564 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 105 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 30 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 16 in South Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 12 in Australia, 3 in Spain, 1 in Iceland, 1 in France, and 1 in China. It also operates e-commerce websites in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. The company was formerly known as Costco Companies, Inc. and changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation in August 1999. Costco Wholesale Corporation was founded in 1976 and is based in Issaquah, Washington.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $539.82 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $495.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $516.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.51, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.69. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $406.51 and a 1-year high of $612.27.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 26th. The retailer reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.17. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.71% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company had revenue of $52.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $51.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.75 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 28th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.07%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 28.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $600.00 to $560.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $590.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $516.00 to $573.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $510.00 to $545.00 in a report on Thursday, August 4th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $543.00 to $571.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $576.68.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, VP James P. Murphy sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total value of $1,160,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 37,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,506,720. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, VP James P. Murphy sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.20, for a total value of $787,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 36,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,027,996. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP James P. Murphy sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $464.00, for a total transaction of $1,160,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 37,730 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,506,720. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,300 shares of company stock valued at $2,609,904 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.