Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Receives $1,059.53 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-four analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and twenty-two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,059.5333.

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,125.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $1,000.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $6,781,946,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $672,690,000 after buying an additional 6,720,130 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 838.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,282,182,000 after buying an additional 5,472,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth $2,362,188,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Costco Wholesale News

Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:

• Positive Sentiment: New Medicare Advantage offering could expand Costco’s membership value proposition. Costco is partnering with nonprofit SCAN Health Plan to offer co-branded Medicare Advantage and supplemental plans, initially in two states pending regulatory approval. The broader rollout could include pharmacy, vision, hearing and over-the-counter benefits, potentially strengthening member retention and creating an additional revenue stream. Costco’s Next Big Bulk Item: Medicare Advantage
• Positive Sentiment: Growing cash reserves may support another special dividend. Commentary suggests Costco’s accumulating cash could lead to a substantial shareholder payout this fall. While no dividend has been announced, the possibility may provide support for the stock and reinforce Costco’s shareholder-return appeal. Costco’s Cash Pile Keeps Building
• Neutral Sentiment: Costco’s merchandising strategy continues to drive member engagement. The company’s practice of rotating or discontinuing popular products can frustrate shoppers, but limited availability and surprise product returns may encourage more frequent warehouse visits and support the treasure-hunt shopping experience. Costco keeps discontinuing popular products
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation leaves limited room for execution missteps. COST trades at roughly 48 times earnings, with a PEG ratio above 4, and analysts have questioned whether its strong multiyear performance is already reflected in the share price. The company’s latest quarterly EPS slightly missed consensus, although revenue exceeded expectations, adding to investor focus on earnings growth. Costco Stock Looks Fully Priced

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.5%

COST opened at $956.99 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,096.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $948.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $981.23. The company has a market cap of $424.41 billion, a PE ratio of 48.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.87.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. The company had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 20.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.