Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 1% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares shot up 1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $920.40 and last traded at $919.11. 427,561 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 1,059,656 shares. The stock had previously closed at $909.81.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $943.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $896.28. The company has a market cap of $406.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.82, a PEG ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 1st were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 4,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.15, for a total value of $3,921,060.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,091,512.30. This trade represents a 30.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $896.71, for a total transaction of $1,793,420.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,155,409.10. This represents a 16.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,816 shares of company stock valued at $6,981,347 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.0% in the second quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $133,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Northwest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwest Wealth Management LLC now owns 420 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 67,581 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $57,443,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.4% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 64,424 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $54,760,000 after acquiring an additional 4,452 shares during the period. Finally, Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 12.2% during the second quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 958 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $814,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently 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.