Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 0.5% – Should You Sell?

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price was down 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $1,043.49 and last traded at $1,050.91. Approximately 394,694 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 1,865,498 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,055.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $755.00 to $907.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,021.93.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $460.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.93, a PEG ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $977.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $935.03. 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 Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.6% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $20,056,000. CHURCHILL MANAGEMENT Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $8,430,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.