Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.7% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $900.65 and last traded at $896.40. 402,365 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,946,032 shares. The stock had previously closed at $889.76.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $985.00 to $990.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $925.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $886.74.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $395.68 billion, a PE ratio of 55.54, a PEG ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $884.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $829.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,560,344. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,824 shares of company stock worth $4,260,493. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,208.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,474,733 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,253,508,000 after purchasing an additional 1,473,248 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $510,353,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 287.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 836,247 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $710,802,000 after purchasing an additional 620,341 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 51,747.5% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 619,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,266,000 after buying an additional 618,383 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 40,833,870 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $29,916,118,000 after purchasing an additional 473,702 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.