Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Rating Lowered to Hold at Erste Group Bank

Key Points

• Costco Wholesale has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Erste Group Bank, impacting investor sentiment.
• While the average target price from analysts is $1,037.48, some ratings vary widely, with Morgan Stanley increasing their target from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00, indicating mixed outlooks from different firms.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a net margin of 2.92% and an EPS of $4.28, reflecting strong financial performance despite the rating downgrade.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Erste Group Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock traded up $10.85 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $954.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 362,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,207,102. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The company has a market cap of $423.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.12, a P/E/G ratio of 5.94 and a beta of 0.96. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $809.26 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $980.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $984.49.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total transaction of $3,899,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% during the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% during the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is 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.