Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 2.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) rose 2.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $943.80 and last traded at $943.19. Approximately 2,367,034 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 29% from the average daily volume of 1,832,091 shares. The stock had previously closed at $919.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $420.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $950.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $902.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares in the company, valued at $24,514,232. The trade was a 4.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. 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.