Costco finally announced long-awaited fee increase, says DA Davidson

DA Davidson keeps a Neutral rating and $780 price target on Costco (COST) after its June sales data and member fee increase reported yesterday. Most market participants expected the fee increase at some point as the company had increased its fees every 5.5 years on average, though it had been more than 7 years since its last fee increase in June of 2017, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Strong comps and fee increase should drive a “positive” stock reaction for Costco as well as BJ‘s Wholesale (BJ), which typically follows Costco with its own member fee bumps, the firm added.