Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $927.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $881.19.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $15.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $885.62. The stock had a trading volume of 3,457,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,969,224. The stock has a market cap of $392.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $869.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $814.95. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $540.23 and a one year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 30.02%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.86 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 16.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock worth $4,252,856 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. 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.