Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 1.7% – What’s Next?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price rose 1.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $997.77 and last traded at $997.03. Approximately 754,185 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 1,858,147 shares. The stock had previously closed at $979.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on COST. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price objective (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $462.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.84 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $956.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $910.75.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 0.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cromwell Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. SRN Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,823,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fermata Advisors LLC now owns 1,968 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sculati Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,649 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.