Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Lowered to $1,045.00 at Loop Capital

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Loop Capital from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the retailer's stock. Loop Capital's target price suggests a potential upside of 8.47% from the stock's current price.

COST has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 4th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $963.41. 2,719,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,003,486. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $427.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $702.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $982.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $949.47.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total value of $1,034,011.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 41,077 shares of the company's stock, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $5,215,915 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Dale Q Rice Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $984,000. Stanich Group LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,913 shares of the retailer's stock worth $10,916,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently 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.