Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) PT Raised to $710.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target increased by Citigroup from $630.00 to $710.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the retailer’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 1.92% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $601.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $760.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2 %

COST stock opened at $723.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $321.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.34, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.77. 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 one year low of $476.75 and a one year high of $787.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $730.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $664.46.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $59.11 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 119,999 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $87,915,000 after acquiring an additional 9,868 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 7,486 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,485,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% during the first quarter. Elite Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,973 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,109,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.2% during the first quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,050 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PSI Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 17.4% during the first quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 128 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.