Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 0.1% Higher After Dividend Announcement

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares were up 0.1% 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 traded 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,019.00 to $1,020.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,013.59.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $417.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $950.92 and a 200-day moving average of $903.31.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $4,202,000. Beck Bode LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 15,957 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,563,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $264,000. MBB Public Markets I LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2,504.5% in the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 31,566 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,831,000 after purchasing an additional 30,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 312,946 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $266,001,000 after purchasing an additional 6,750 shares in the last quarter. 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.