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

Telsey Advisory Group reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $1,100.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on COST. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Melius Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $916.58 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $640.51 and a 1 year high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $943.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $896.46. The firm has a market cap of $406.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.51%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,155,409.10. The trade was a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,816 shares of company stock worth $6,981,347 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,916,000 after acquiring an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Modus Advisors LLC now owns 1,777 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.6% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 627 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peirce Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $332,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.