Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $1,030.77 and last traded at $1,030.52. 684,050 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average session volume of 1,830,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,046.85.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.0 %

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $984.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $939.83. The stock has a market cap of $460.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.88, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 123,292 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $110,861,000 after purchasing an additional 9,447 shares during the last quarter. Lansing Street Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.4% during the third quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 339 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $300,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the third quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 16,044 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $14,223,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 2,930 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.