Costco Wholesale's (COST) "Outperform" Rating Reaffirmed at Telsey Advisory Group

Key Points

• The Telsey Advisory Group has reaffirmed Costco Wholesale's stock with an "outperform" rating, setting a target price of $1,100.00, signaling a potential upside of 15.85% from its previous close.
• Costco recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $4.28, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.24, with revenues reaching $63.21 billion.
• Insider trading activity has been notable, with executives selling significant shares, including EVP Yoram Rubanenko who sold 4,000 shares for approximately $3.9 million.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by investment analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $1,100.00 target price on the retailer's stock. Telsey Advisory Group's target price suggests a potential upside of 15.85% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Seventeen 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 currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $949.52 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $967.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $983.35. The company has a market capitalization of $421.09 billion, a PE ratio of 53.86, a P/E/G ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,147 shares of company stock valued at $10,067,740 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Anderson Financial Strategies LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 36 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.

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