Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.8% – Time to Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 note on Thursday, December 5th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $959.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $912.64. The company has a market cap of $463.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.29, a P/E/G ratio of 5.84 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 Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of COST. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,896,000. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gunderson Capital Management Inc. now owns 435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 54,764 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $48,550,000 after purchasing an additional 3,151 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,152 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,501,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares during the period. Finally, Clarus Wealth Advisors boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Clarus Wealth Advisors now owns 836 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the period. 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.