Costco Wholesale Co. Same Store Sales Rise 10% in September (NASDAQ:COST)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Costco Wholesale’s (NASDAQ:COSTFree Report) same-store sales climbed 10% during the month of September. Costco Wholesale’s stock climbed by 0% in the first full-day of trading following the news.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $870.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $855.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,005.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $980.00 price target (up from $950.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $886.74.

Read Our Latest Report on COST

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total transaction of $437,025.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,320,787.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $874.05, for a total value of $437,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,015,745. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,224 shares of company stock valued at $9,974,973 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $894.61 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $540.23 and a fifty-two week high of $923.83. The company’s 50-day moving average is $886.11 and its 200 day moving average is $830.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $396.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.80.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COSTGet Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 26th. The retailer reported $5.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $79.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.86 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 17.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,989 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,309,000 after buying an additional 926 shares in the last quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 5,559 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,928,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the third quarter. Petredis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,578 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,697,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter. Prospect Financial Services LLC now owns 749 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Astoria Strategic Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $206,000. Hedge funds and other 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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