Loop Capital Increases Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $970.00

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Loop Capital from $940.00 to $970.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the retailer’s stock. Loop Capital’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 15.08% from the company’s previous close.

COST has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $777.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, June 2nd. 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 report on Thursday. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $905.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $799.33.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $842.90 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale has a 12-month low of $530.56 and a 12-month high of $896.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $829.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $753.54. The stock has a market cap of $373.69 billion, a PE ratio of 52.22, a P/E/G ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $58.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $58.16 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.43 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 15.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 785 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $722.86, for a total value of $567,445.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,228,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 1,763 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,164,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 272,288 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $179,822,000 after purchasing an additional 61,122 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 21,514 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,201,000 after purchasing an additional 2,909 shares during the period. Zhang Financial LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 1,010 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 1,867 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.