Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $1,145.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 16.02% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Truist Financial cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $928.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded down $3.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $986.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,127,804 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,921,613. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $437.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $912.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $876.08. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $603.86 and a 12 month high of $991.15.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 17.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total transaction of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 73.5% in the second quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 59 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $50,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 230.0% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.