Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 1.8% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares were down 1.8% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $1,054.33 and last traded at $1,052.13. Approximately 655,760 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 1,876,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,071.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on COST. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $459.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.73, a P/E/G ratio of 6.28 and a beta of 0.84. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $973.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $928.24.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 4,916 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,504,000 after buying an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Baer Investment Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $1,256,000. Griffith & Werner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,975,000. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 350 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $515,000. Hedge funds and other 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.