Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) PT Raised to $1,005.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Loop Capital from $975.00 to $1,005.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Loop Capital’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.48% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Roth Mkm restated a “neutral” rating and set a $676.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $885.62 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $870.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $816.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.62 billion, a PE ratio of 54.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 16.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $848.53, for a total value of $1,272,795.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 57.3% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 626 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $413,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,065 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $703,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. J. W. Coons Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,510,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gold Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. 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.