Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Given New $545.00 Price Target at Loop Capital

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Loop Capital from $550.00 to $545.00 in a research note issued on Friday, The Fly reports. Loop Capital’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.01% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $540.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $550.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. William Blair started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, April 12th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $510.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $547.72.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ COST opened at $486.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $215.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $495.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $492.78. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $443.20 and a one year high of $564.75.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 25th. The retailer reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.11. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 28.66%. The business had revenue of $53.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $54.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Caton Frates sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.35, for a total value of $298,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,148,552. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Caton Frates sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $497.35, for a total transaction of $298,410.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,148,552. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Richard A. Galanti sold 2,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $483.32, for a total transaction of $999,505.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 25,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,252,162. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,168 shares of company stock valued at $2,031,341. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the third quarter. Fairview Capital Investment Management LLC now owns 563 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the third quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 2,511 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Essex LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Essex LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $489,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. MU Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. MU Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 6,950 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,173,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC now owns 3,555 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,623,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.03% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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Costco Wholesale Corp. engages in the operation of membership warehouses through wholly owned subsidiaries. It operates through the following geographical segments: United States, Canada, and Other International Operations. The company was founded by James D. Sinegal and Jeffrey H. Brotman in 1983 and is headquartered in Issaquah, WA.