Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) dropped 1.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $1,030.77 and last traded at $1,030.52. Approximately 684,050 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 1,830,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,046.85.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $975.00 to $1,090.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $990.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $460.27 billion, a PE ratio of 60.88, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $984.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $939.83.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.25%.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in COST. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 123,292 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $110,861,000 after acquiring an additional 9,447 shares during the period. Lansing Street Advisors increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 31.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lansing Street Advisors now owns 339 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Kanawha Capital Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Kanawha Capital Management LLC now owns 16,044 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $14,223,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 2,930 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.