Daiwa Capital Markets Cuts Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $917.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price trimmed by Daiwa Capital Markets from $947.00 to $917.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the retailer’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,218.00 to $1,171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $991.39.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.6%

COST opened at $857.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $380.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.93, a PEG ratio of 5.17 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $911.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $946.61. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Luminist Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.4% in the first quarter. Luminist Capital LLC now owns 128 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Birchbrook Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 456 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the second quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Hobbs Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the second quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.