Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates Outperform Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,100.00 target price on the retailer's stock. Telsey Advisory Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 11.98% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on COST. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,034.79.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $982.36 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $793.00 and a 52 week high of $1,078.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $435.66 billion, a PE ratio of 55.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 0.97. The company's 50-day moving average price is $1,004.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $981.10.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total value of $2,028,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,496,950. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. May Barnhard Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $485,000. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 188 shares of the retailer's stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 117,254 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $107,436,000 after buying an additional 36,384 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is 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.

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