Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given New $1,000.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $935.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would indicate a potential upside of 1.17% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $980.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Melius Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $950.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $920.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded down $2.51 during trading on Thursday, reaching $988.41. 690,714 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,919,345. The company’s 50-day moving average is $912.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $876.08. The company has a market cap of $437.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.65, a P/E/G ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $603.86 and a 12-month high of $991.15.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (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 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.86 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total value of $1,793,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,210 shares in the company, valued at $9,155,409.10. This trade represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Fermata Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Oak Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the second quarter. Oak Asset Management LLC now owns 4,396 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the second quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,786 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the third quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after acquiring an additional 12 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.