Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 0.3% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded up 0.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $932.87 and last traded at $920.10. 466,994 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,729,334 shares. The stock had previously closed at $917.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target for the company. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $418.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.38, a PEG ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $949.84 and a 200 day moving average of $900.50.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total value of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 329.4% during the third quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 73 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 56 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.