Evercore ISI Lowers Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $915.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Evercore ISI from $920.00 to $915.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the retailer’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.07% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on COST. StockNews.com raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 2nd. Argus lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $970.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $821.62.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of COST stock traded up $15.19 on Wednesday, reaching $854.62. 883,097 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,994,688. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $844.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $774.57. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $530.56 and a 52 week high of $896.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $378.88 billion, a PE ratio of 52.61, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 15.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.