Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.6% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) traded up 0.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1,072.18 and last traded at $1,071.91. 396,051 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,892,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,065.12.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Tigress Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $966.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $919.48. The company has a market capitalization of $477.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.06, a PEG 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in COST. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $42,896,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $213,000. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 224,169 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $194,245,000 after acquiring an additional 11,678 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnus Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 14.2% during the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 1,253 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,111,000 after buying an additional 156 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.