Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Short Interest Down 7.4% in January

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,890,000 shares, a decline of 7.4% from the January 15th total of 6,360,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,056.03 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $972.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $927.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $468.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.37 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $697.27 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,075.00 price target (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,075.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,021.93.

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.