Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $710.00 at Citigroup

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price raised by Citigroup from $630.00 to $710.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on COST. Gordon Haskett lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a buy rating to an accumulate rating and set a $775.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an outperform rating and set a $800.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $680.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $722.68 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $476.75 and a 52 week high of $787.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $320.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.26, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $730.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $664.04.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.30 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 25th. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.35%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $477,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 113 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 1,044 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Inscription Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inscription Capital LLC now owns 956 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $540,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,484 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,917,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.