Daiwa Capital Markets Cuts Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $947.00

Key Points

• Daiwa Capital Markets has reduced Costco Wholesale's price target from $1,005.00 to $947.00, maintaining a "neutral" rating on the stock.
• Despite the price target cut, analysts project a 3.29% potential upside from Costco's previous closing price.
• Costco recently reported $5.87 earnings per share, exceeding the consensus estimate of $5.81, and achieved revenue of $86.16 billion for the quarter.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by Daiwa Capital Markets from $1,005.00 to $947.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the retailer's stock. Daiwa Capital Markets' target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.29% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,137.00 to $1,140.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,067.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $916.87 on Tuesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $955.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $971.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.15 and a beta of 0.97. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $867.16 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. The trade was a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,362 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% 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 Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the 1st quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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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