Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target lifted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $950.00 to $1,000.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 1.08% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1 %

COST stock opened at $989.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $438.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $630.30 and a 12 month high of $1,007.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $926.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $885.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.86 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 17.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares in the company, valued at $7,671,983.70. This trade represents a 27.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $50,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 230.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 66 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.