Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at BTIG Research

Equities researchers at BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,160.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $950.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,042.00 to $1,033.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,068.04.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.9%

COST opened at $954.99 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $867.34 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $951.44 and its 200-day moving average is $971.75. The company has a market capitalization of $423.23 billion, a PE ratio of 52.44, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total value of $3,093,615.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 9,740 shares in the company, valued at $8,912,100. The trade was a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $992.05, for a total value of $595,230.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,362 shares in the company, valued at $2,343,222.10. This trade represents a 20.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after buying an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,141,062,000 after buying an additional 90,107 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,124,263,000 after buying an additional 150,844 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $5,692,035,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,332,009 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,097,127,000 after buying an additional 18,045 shares during the last quarter. 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.