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

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reiterated by stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $800.00 price target on the retailer's stock. Telsey Advisory Group's price target points to a potential upside of 5.76% from the company's previous close.

COST has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $820.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST traded up $12.55 on Monday, hitting $756.45. 1,772,820 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,038,013. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The stock has a market cap of $335.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $730.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $674.43.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.30 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 12,395 shares in the company, valued at $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Richelieu Gestion SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter worth $32,000. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 200.0% in the fourth quarter. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC now owns 45 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.