Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) PT Raised to $850.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $800.00 to $850.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 4.02% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $710.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $885.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $870.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $816.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market cap of $392.62 billion, a PE ratio of 54.87, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $540.23 and a 1 year high of $923.83.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Sage Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Advisors LLC now owns 1,100 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $935,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 19.2% in the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 5,179 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,402,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.5% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 389,883 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $331,397,000 after acquiring an additional 33,720 shares during the last quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 2,907 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,470,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.