Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 1.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price was down 1.7% during trading on Monday after Loop Capital lowered their price target on the stock from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as low as $931.55 and last traded at $947.94. Approximately 1,246,258 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 1,809,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $964.31.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,030.43.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.9 %

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $989.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $943.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $420.02 billion, a PE ratio of 55.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $63.02 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.09%.

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.