Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 0.1% After Dividend Announcement

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $946.04 and last traded at $943.35. Approximately 249,746 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,766,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $942.16.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on COST shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Tigress Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,065.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,016.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $950.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $903.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $417.12 billion, a PE ratio of 55.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,808,255 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,489,574,000 after purchasing an additional 32,074 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 62.8% during the third quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors now owns 2,417 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,143,000 after buying an additional 932 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the third quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 8,046 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,133,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Nwam LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $20,056,000. Finally, CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.