Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares dropped 0.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $1,024.68 and last traded at $1,030.47. Approximately 468,578 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,864,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,034.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,040.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $457.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $974.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $928.97.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.