Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Receives “Outperform” Rating from Telsey Advisory Group

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,100.00 target price on the retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.99% from the company’s current price.

COST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Northcoast Research set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $996.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $940.25 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $906.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $929.17. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $417.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.36, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.01.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.32, for a total value of $1,374,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,550,476.80. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total value of $1,408,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,101,943. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,315 shares of company stock valued at $8,549,409. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $5,692,035,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,364,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,328 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $980,857,000 after buying an additional 1,070,005 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,697,000 after acquiring an additional 986,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after purchasing an additional 711,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.