Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) rose 0.2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1,062.74 and last traded at $1,057.94. Approximately 321,581 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 1,872,893 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,056.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $469.90 billion, a PE ratio of 62.16, a PEG ratio of 6.37 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. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $972.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $927.29.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th will be given a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,201,610 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,668,069,000 after buying an additional 455,043 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,739,175 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,901,249,000 after purchasing an additional 252,118 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,457,824 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,665,921,000 after purchasing an additional 149,209 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after purchasing an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.