JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $1,025.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price target decreased by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $1,050.00 to $1,025.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.62% from the company’s previous close.

COST has been the subject of several other research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,333.00 to $1,418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,063.88.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of COST stock opened at $935.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $414.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.98. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $871.71 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $938.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $969.33.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 25th. The retailer reported $5.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $86.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $86.01 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.15 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total transaction of $595,230.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. The trade was a 20.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock worth $7,373,175. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,293 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,169,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Ascent Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the first quarter. Ascent Capital Management LLC now owns 1,009 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $954,000 after buying an additional 14 shares during the period. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.1% during the first quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by 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.