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

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) shares rose 1.8% on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $984.10 and last traded at $985.16. Approximately 506,643 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Mizuho started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $977.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $951.51. 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 company has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,445,926.72. The trade was a 11.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,495,211.65. This represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of COST. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,488 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. SRN Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. SRN Advisors LLC now owns 3,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,823,000 after buying an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Miramar Capital LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Miramar Capital LLC now owns 525 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the fourth quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.