Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.30 on August 15th

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 16th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be paid a dividend of 1.30 per share by the retailer on Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st.

Costco Wholesale has a payout ratio of 26.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Costco Wholesale to earn $19.69 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.4%.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $953.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $1,000.06 and its 200 day moving average is $982.43. Costco Wholesale has a 1 year low of $793.00 and a 1 year high of $1,078.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $423.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Loop Capital cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Cfra Research upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,037.48.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Pierre Riel sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,014.15, for a total transaction of $2,028,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,326,171.50. This trade represents a 19.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,543 shares in the company, valued at $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,547 shares of company stock valued at $9,472,510. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Costco Wholesale stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $18,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.