A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $915.00 to $925.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $830.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Costco Wholesale from an "accumulate" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $925.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $881.19.
View Our Latest Stock Report on COST
NASDAQ COST traded down $15.82 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $885.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,457,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,969,224. Costco Wholesale has a twelve month low of $540.23 and a twelve month high of $923.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $392.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $869.72 and a 200 day moving average of $814.95.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 16.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total value of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at $5,041,057.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at about $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $710,802,000 after acquiring an additional 620,341 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer's stock worth $5,266,000 after acquiring an additional 618,383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3,647.1% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 567,641 shares of the retailer's stock worth $374,688,000 after acquiring an additional 552,492 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
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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