Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 1.8% Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shot up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $984.10 and last traded at $985.16. 506,643 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 2,005,056 shares. The stock had previously closed at $967.75.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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, March 7th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.8 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $975.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $952.32. The company has a market capitalization of $441.24 billion, a PE ratio of 58.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43.

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

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total value of $3,351,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,242,687. The trade was a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 106,402.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,160,190 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,717,744,000 after purchasing an additional 8,152,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $5,182,316,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 74,796.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,521,893 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,394,465,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,861 shares during the last quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,452,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 100,422.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 796,137 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $729,476,000 after purchasing an additional 795,345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.