Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $800.00 target price on the retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 7.54% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $665.00 to $749.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $630.00 to $710.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $610.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.6 %

COST stock opened at $743.90 on Monday. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $476.75 and a 1-year high of $787.08. The stock has a market cap of $329.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $730.46 and its 200 day moving average is $673.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $58.44 billion for 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 15.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total value of $1,072,245.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,785,786.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $567,445.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $7,228,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,727 shares of company stock worth $2,682,948. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Blue Square Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at $218,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 8,044.4% during the 1st quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 1,466 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the period. 9258 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 1,037 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,389,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.