Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective increased by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $950.00 to $1,150.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the retailer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target suggests a potential upside of 16.24% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on COST. Melius Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price for the company. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $880.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $988.46.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $989.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $438.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.09, a P/E/G ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $926.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $885.20. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $630.30 and a fifty-two week high of $1,007.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 31.05% and a net margin of 2.90%. The business had revenue of $79.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.86 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 17.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $888.99, for a total transaction of $2,844,768.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,671,983.70. This represents a 27.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,016 shares of company stock worth $9,826,115. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fermata Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the third quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,745,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Sculati Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 4,675 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,144,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC now owns 358 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Horizon Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares during the period. 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.