Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $1,046.27

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty-three analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,046.27.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,200.00 to $1,095.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,175.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong customer traffic and transaction growth supported broad-based comparable-sales gains. U.S. comparable sales increased 12.5%, Canada rose 6.3%, and other international markets gained 10.8%, offering evidence that Costco’s membership model continues to attract shoppers. Costco sales rise in September as strong traffic drives start to fiscal 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Digital sales grew approximately 19%, adding another growth channel and strengthening expectations for a solid start to fiscal 2027. The report also supports the view that Costco’s international operations remain an important contributor to future revenue growth. Costco’s September Sales Rise 13% on Strong Comps, Digital Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are paying a premium for this consistency: COST trades at roughly 45 times trailing earnings. The valuation reflects expectations for years of continued growth, leaving the stock particularly sensitive to any slowdown in traffic, memberships, or margins. What Are Costco Investors Betting On?
• Negative Sentiment: Some of the headline sales strength came from higher gasoline prices and other potentially lower-margin or one-time effects. Analysts therefore caution that the underlying 7.6% increase, while healthy, is less dramatic than the 13% reported-sales gain. Costco’s Sales Rebound in September Looks Great on Paper. Why There’s More to the Story.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $947.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.06. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,096.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $930.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $963.49. The company has a market capitalization of $420.38 billion, a PE ratio of 45.66, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 27.60%. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 22.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total value of $2,015,046.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,534,244.62. The trade was a 23.57% 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. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth $6,781,946,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $672,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720,130 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.7% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,359,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,749,362 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,282,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472,968 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $2,362,188,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells a broad selection of merchandise, including groceries, fresh foods, beverages, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal products. It also offers services such as gasoline, pharmacies, optical departments, hearing-aid centers, food courts, travel services, and business delivery in selected markets.

Costco markets many products under its private-label Kirkland Signature brand and sells merchandise through warehouse locations and e-commerce platforms.