Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Receives Outperform Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research note issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $800.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 3.72% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.0 %

COST stock opened at $771.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $731.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $675.97. The company has a market cap of $342.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.80% and a net margin of 2.73%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.30 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total transaction of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following 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 three months, insiders have sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bedel Financial Consulting Inc. now owns 995 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Arlington Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,295 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Enterprise Financial Services Corp now owns 892 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the first quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 1,535 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 4,472 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,276,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.