Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Short Interest Update

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,890,000 shares, a decrease of 7.4% from the January 15th total of 6,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,020,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded down $5.01 during trading on Monday, hitting $1,071.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,409,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,921,622. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $969.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $923.85. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $697.27 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $475.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.26 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.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.