Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shot up 0.9% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $1,054.65 and last traded at $1,053.66. 429,561 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,902,031 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,043.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Finally, Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $472.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 62.54, a P/E/G ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average of $964.53 and a 200-day moving average of $918.45.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the period. Hudson Value Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% during the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,133,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 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.