Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Increased to $850.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $800.00 to $850.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 4.24% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an “accumulate” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $925.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $955.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Nine equities research 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $874.56.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of COST stock traded down $13.81 on Friday, hitting $887.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,541,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,958,983. The firm has a market cap of $393.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.00, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $869.72 and its two-hundred day 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 twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders 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

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second 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.