Costco Wholesale's Price Target Increased by Stifel Nicolaus

On Thursday, Stifel Nicolaus announced that they have raised their price target for Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) from $935.00 to $1,000.00. The brokerage firm has maintained a "buy" rating on the retailer's stock. This new price target suggests a potential increase of 1.17% based on Costco's current market price.

Costco has been featured in various research reports recently. For instance, on August 8, Gordon Haskett upgraded Costco from an "accumulate" to a "buy" rating, setting a price target of $925.00. Oppenheimer also increased their price target from $955.00 to $980.00 while giving Costco an "outperform" rating on October 10. However, not all analysts have been optimistic; for example, StockNews.com downgraded their rating from "buy" to "hold" on September 27. DA Davidson maintained a "neutral" stance with a price target of $880.00 on the same day as Oppenheimer's report. Telsey Advisory Group also raised their price target recently, moving it from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00, while retaining a "outperform" rating.

In total, ten analysts have rated Costco with a hold rating, while eighteen others have issued a buy rating. According to statistics from MarketBeat.com, Costco currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $920.48.

Costco Wholesale Price Details

As for Costco's stock performance, shares traded down $2.51 reaching $988.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday. The trading volume stood at 690,714 shares, significantly lower than the average volume of 1,919,345 shares. The company has a market cap of $437.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.65, and a one-year trading range between $603.86 and $991.15.

In the latest earnings report on September 26, Costco reported earnings of $5.15 per share, slightly surpassing the analysts' predictions of $5.05. Total revenue for the quarter was $79.70 billion, which was below expectations of $79.91 billion, marking a 1.0% year-over-year increase.

Insider Transactions

In insider news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares on October 11 at an average price of $891.15, totaling about $3.92 million. After this sale, Miller continues to hold 10,202 shares of Costco. Similarly, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 3,200 shares on September 30 for $2.84 million. Over the last 90 days, a total of 11,016 shares have been sold by insiders, representing 0.18% of total shares owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Activity

Many institutional investors have been active in the Costco stock market. For instance, International Assets Investment Management LLC saw its stake increase dramatically by 113,947.9% in the third quarter, now owning over 7.3 million shares valued at around $6.53 billion. Other firms, like Wulff Hansen & Co. and Assenagon Asset Management S.A., have also significantly increased their positions in Costco. Overall, institutional investors hold approximately 68.48% of Costco's shares.

Company Overview

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership warehouses in not just the United States, but in other countries including Mexico, Canada, Japan, and several European nations. The company sells both branded and private-label products across various categories.

Costco, Stocks, Investment