Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given New $850.00 Price Target at Barclays

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $830.00 to $850.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 4.52% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on COST. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $775.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $873.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $863.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $11.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $890.25. The company had a trading volume of 1,443,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,958,458. The firm has a market capitalization of $394.68 billion, a PE ratio of 54.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $869.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $814.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.94. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strong Tower Advisory Services lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% during the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 7,645 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,499,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.8% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,533 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,003,000 after purchasing an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 30.8% in the second quarter. Parcion Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,596 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the period. Finally, Aspiriant LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 2,327 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,705,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.