Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nineteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $1,013.59.

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, September 27th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $943.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $418.68 billion, a PE ratio of 55.38, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $949.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $901.17. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $675.96 and a 1-year high of $1,008.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. This trade represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after acquiring an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,056,000. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,430,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.