Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Forecasted to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $3.34 Per Share

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson upped their Q3 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a report issued on Thursday, May 9th. DA Davidson analyst M. Baker now expects that the retailer will earn $3.34 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $3.33. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $680.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $15.84 per share.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.30 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $779.04 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $731.53 and its 200 day moving average is $676.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $345.51 billion, a PE ratio of 50.95, a PEG ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $3,628,694,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 61,693.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,105,124 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,049,630,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100,099 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $510,353,000. C WorldWide Group Holding A S acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $390,630,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $374,688,000 after buying an additional 552,492 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following 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. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.35%.

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.