Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its price target for Costco's stock from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00, indicating a potential upside of 18.72% from its current price and maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Costco recently reported earnings that exceeded expectations, with $4.28 earnings per share and revenue of $63.21 billion, showcasing an 8.0% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Insider sales were noted, with executives selling significant amounts of stock, indicating potential changes in management sentiment towards the company’s stock performance.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the retailer's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price suggests a potential upside of 18.72% from the stock's current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,040.81.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9%

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $8.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $977.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,379,857 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,217,726. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $979.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $984.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $433.32 billion, a PE ratio of 55.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.87 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.02. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $820.45 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peninsula Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer's stock worth $749,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Bosun Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer's stock worth $583,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Corps Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Corps Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,547 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 126 shares of the retailer's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NFP Retirement Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer's stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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