Evercore ISI Boosts Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $1,020.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 in a research report issued on Thursday. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.41% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $957.07.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $996.02. 988,587 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,918,930. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $922.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $882.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $441.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.11, a PEG ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $630.30 and a twelve month high of $1,007.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 17.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Costco Wholesale

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.