Costco Wholesale Co. (COST) To Go Ex-Dividend on July 26th

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 10th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 26th will be given a dividend of 1.16 per share by the retailer on Friday, August 9th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 26th.

Costco Wholesale has increased its dividend payment by an average of 12.9% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 21 years. Costco Wholesale has a payout ratio of 26.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Costco Wholesale to earn $17.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.64 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.3%.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.6 %

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $852.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $840.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $764.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Costco Wholesale has a 1-year low of $530.56 and a 1-year high of $896.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $377.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.79, a P/E/G ratio of 5.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The retailer reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.70 by $0.08. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.02% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $58.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $58.16 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.43 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 15.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $900.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $875.00 target price (up previously from $800.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 31st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $815.00 to $873.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $905.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $799.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total value of $1,266,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,492 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,545,746.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel M. Hines sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $844.20, for a total transaction of $1,266,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,492 shares in the company, valued at $10,545,746.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 350 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $851.53, for a total transaction of $298,035.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,041,057.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,350 shares of company stock worth $2,837,131. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.