BMO Capital Markets Reiterates Outperform Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $980.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $950.00. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.66% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on COST. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $780.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $885.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $870.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $816.70. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $392.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 16.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s 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 valued at $4,252,856. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.