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.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 15th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $615.00 to $590.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $510.00 to $545.00 in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $516.00 to $573.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $535.00 to $600.00 in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $576.68.
Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0 %
Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $5.39 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $546.06. 13,468 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,673,988. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $406.51 and a fifty-two week high of $612.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $492.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $515.52. The firm has a market cap of $241.88 billion, a PE ratio of 42.77, a P/E/G ratio of 4.52 and a beta of 0.69.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 26th. The retailer reported $3.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.17. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 29.71%. The business had revenue of $52.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $51.49 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.75 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 13.04 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Cuts Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 12th. Investors of record on Friday, July 29th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 28th. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.35%.
Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale
In related news, VP James P. Murphy sold 1,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 20th. The shares were 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 owns 36,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,027,996. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP James P. Murphy sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 20th. The shares were 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 owns 36,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,027,996. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP James P. Murphy sold 2,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,730 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,506,720. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,300 shares of company stock valued at $2,609,904. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.
