Stifel Nicolaus Raises Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $935.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective increased by Stifel Nicolaus from $925.00 to $935.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the retailer’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on COST. Redburn Atlantic cut 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. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco Wholesale from an accumulate rating to a buy rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an outperform rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $886.74.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $889.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $394.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.08, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $882.80 and a 200 day moving average of $827.34.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 17.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were 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 $9,327,041.76. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,327,041.76. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,674 shares of company stock worth $5,831,324 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 62.8% in the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 52.1% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after acquiring an additional 2,620 shares during the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. Finally, Parcion Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 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.