Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

COST has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $874.00 to $962.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $676.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $925.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday. Argus boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $805.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $875.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty 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 $828.73.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $9.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $876.68. The company had a trading volume of 2,073,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,959,834. The stock has a market cap of $388.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.32, a PEG ratio of 5.98 and a beta of 0.80. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $857.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $799.68. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $540.23 and a 12 month high of $918.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total value of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $876.50, for a total transaction of $543,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,320,787.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,974 shares of company stock valued at $4,252,856 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Vima LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 557.1% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.