The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $995.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $876.00 to $995.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets restated an outperform rating and issued a $980.00 price objective (up previously from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $883.04.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $886.52 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $871.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $818.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $393.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.93, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 16.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 26th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.75%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.8% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 30.8% during the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspiriant LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during 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.