Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.8% – Here’s Why

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price rose 0.8% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $1,034.00 and last traded at $1,030.02. Approximately 451,726 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 1,895,434 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,021.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,065.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $956.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $910.75. The stock has a market cap of $460.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.00, a PEG ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.25%.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Barrett & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 59.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrett & Company Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $41,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.