Truist Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price

by · The Cerbat Gem

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Truist Financial from $1,033.00 to $926.00 in a research report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the retailer’s stock. Truist Financial’s price objective points to a potential upside of 4.69% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,146.00 price objective (up previously from $1,134.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,005.26.

View Our Latest Research Report on COST

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $884.48 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $916.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $951.96. Costco Wholesale has a one year low of $871.09 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $392.67 billion, a PE ratio of 48.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.55.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.09% and a net margin of 2.94%.The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,260. This trade represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,720 shares of company stock worth $9,010,257 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Luminist Capital LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.4% in the first quarter. Luminist Capital LLC now owns 128 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Birchbrook Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the first quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 456 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hobbs Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

(Get Free Report)

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.

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