Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 1.4% Higher – Here’s Why

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares shot up 1.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $888.88 and last traded at $886.16. 440,894 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,952,934 shares. The stock had previously closed at $873.59.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on COST shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $780.00 to $880.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $886.74.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $403.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.33, a PEG ratio of 5.34 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $879.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $825.10. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total value of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,174 shares of company stock worth $7,097,624 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. Northwest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $253,000. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 10,196 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $6,730,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. First Financial Bankshares Inc acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $452,000. Vivaldi Capital Management LP lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 890 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,001 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $40,265,000 after buying an additional 5,295 shares during the period. 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.