Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.7% – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Redburn Atlantic cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $860.00 to $890.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $876.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $886.74.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.3 %

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

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.86 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 17.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Scarborough Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 561 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Walden Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $774,000. BlueChip Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $524,000. Skyline Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,029,000. Finally, M3 Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $408,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.