Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) were down 0.4% on Friday . The company traded as low as $1,024.68 and last traded at $1,030.47. Approximately 468,578 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,864,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,034.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.0 %

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $975.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $931.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $459.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after buying an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $95,452,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $729,476,000 after buying an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,257,809 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,817,573,000 after buying an additional 587,303 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.