Today's Morning Movers and Top Ratings: LEN, BLK, MCO, COST and More

$Costco (COST.US)$ Costco shares added 2.7% after the wholesale retailer posted quarterly numbers that beat analyst expectations. The company also announced a special dividend of $15 per share.

$Chewy (CHWY.US)$ , the Florida-based online retailer of pet food and other pet-related products, saw its stock climb about 1% in pre-market Friday trade. In a recent Form 4 filing, James Star, a Director at Chewy, revealed the acquisition of 15,353 common shares on December 12, 2023, for $19.6048 per share. The total value of this purchase amounted to $300,992.50.

$Colgate-Palmolive (CL.US)$ Shares added 1% after being upgraded by Bank of America Securities to buy from neutral. The bank said it expects Colgate-Palmolive to see U.S. volume and market share turning positive, above-average emerging markets growth and margin expansion.

$Lennar Corp (LEN.US)$ Shares are down over 3% in early New York trading on Friday. Lennar's net new orders increased by 32% year-over-year to 17,366, outperforming the estimated 16,840. Despite this positive outlook, Lennar's stock declined due to a slightly weaker gross margin on home sales, standing at 24.2% compared to the estimated 24.4%.

$Darden Restaurants (DRI.US)$ Shares of the Olive Garden owner slipped 1% on mixed quarterly results. Darden posted adjusted earnings of $1.84 per share, topping the $1.74 expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue came in at $2.73 billion, slightly short of the $2.74 billion expected.