Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $940.00 at Barclays

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Barclays from $850.00 to $940.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential downside of 4.99% from the company’s current price.

COST has been the subject of several other reports. Redburn Atlantic lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $989.35 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $630.30 and a 52 week high of $1,007.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $926.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $885.20. The stock has a market cap of $438.36 billion, a PE ratio of 58.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 17.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock valued at $9,826,115 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. 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.