Sanford C. Bernstein Initiates Coverage on Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)

Stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the retailer’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s target price suggests a potential upside of 12.99% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on COST. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $950.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $955.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $894.57.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $899.17 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $891.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $836.93. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $540.23 and a 1-year high of $923.83. The stock has a market cap of $398.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.71, a PEG ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.05 by $0.10. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The company had revenue of $79.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.86 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale will post 17.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,800 shares in the company, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $863.88, for a total transaction of $431,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,560,344. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares in the company, valued at $10,320,787.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,220 shares of company stock valued at $9,971,643. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.2% during the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 719 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,762 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.2% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 356 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 755 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 36.4% during the first quarter. Aletheian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,935 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.