Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.4% Higher – What’s Next?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shot up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $1,037.06 and last traded at $1,025.61. 382,601 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 1,850,090 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,021.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.6 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $982.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $938.10. The company has a market capitalization of $465.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $1,338,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $280,046,000. Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $555,000. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. now owns 334 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Brucke Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $446,000. Institutional investors 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.