Telsey Advisory Group Reaffirms "Outperform" Rating for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reiterated by equities researchers at Telsey Advisory Group in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,100.00 price objective on the retailer's stock. Telsey Advisory Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 12.57% from the company's current price.

COST has been the topic of several other research reports. Loop Capital lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 target price on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $977.16 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $433.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.38, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $715.32 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $966.46 and a 200 day moving average of $956.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,161,193.58. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 57,751 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $54,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679 shares during the last quarter. Lansing Street Advisors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 30.5% during the 1st quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 548 shares of the retailer's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 5,737 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $5,426,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the first quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC now owns 50,471 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $47,734,000 after buying an additional 1,894 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 22.4% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 27,846 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $26,336,000 after purchasing an additional 5,092 shares during the last quarter. 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.

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