Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Stock analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2025 earnings estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note issued on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now expects that the retailer will post earnings of $18.31 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $17.80. DA Davidson has a "Neutral" rating and a $900.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $17.77 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale's FY2026 earnings at $19.43 EPS.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year.
Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. 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. Melius Research initiated 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $1,016.00 price objective for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $988.46.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on COST
COST stock opened at $989.35 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $926.84 and a 200-day moving average of $885.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $438.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $630.30 and a 12 month high of $1,007.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 27.25%.
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.
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