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

Key Points

• Telsey Advisory Group has reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on Costco Wholesale's stock, setting a target price of $1,100.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.57% from the current price.
• Several other analysts have updated their ratings and price targets for Costco, with 17 analysts$1,061.30.
• Recent insider trading activity includes significant share sales by executives, with EVP Teresa A. Jones selling 600 shares and EVP Yoram Rubanenko selling 4,000 shares, indicating a decrease in their holdings.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by investment analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research note issued to investors 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 16.57% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Loop Capital decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,060.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,061.30.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.0%

NASDAQ COST opened at $943.60 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $418.46 billion, a PE ratio of 53.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $867.16 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $956.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $970.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,920,107,000 after buying an additional 711,560 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,141,062,000 after purchasing an additional 90,107 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,124,263,000 after purchasing an additional 150,844 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer's stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,692,035,000. 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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