Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $1,200.00

Key Points

• Analysts at Argus have raised their price target for Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00, indicating a potential upside of 31.01% from the stock's previous close.
• The stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among analysts with eighteen ratings for Buy and ten for Hold.
• Costco reported quarterly earnings of $5.87 per share, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 8.1% year-over-year revenue increase to $86.16 billion.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Argus from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the retailer's stock. Argus' target price indicates a potential upside of 31.01% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Roth Capital set a $907.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,130.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,072.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $915.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $867.16 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $406.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.30, a PEG ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $955.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $971.63.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.94% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The business had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $86.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.15 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in 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 during the period. Financial Connections Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. 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.

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