Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Down 1.7% Following Analyst Downgrade

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price was down 1.7% during trading on Monday after Loop Capital lowered their price target on the stock from $1,150.00 to $1,135.00. Loop Capital currently has a buy rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as low as $931.55 and last traded at $947.94. Approximately 1,246,258 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average daily volume of 1,809,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $964.31.

Several other research firms have also commented on COST. TD Cowen upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 price target (up previously from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $850.00 to $940.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 3.1 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $989.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $944.28. The company has a market cap of $414.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.87, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $63.02 billion. Analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, February 7th were issued a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 7th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

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.