Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 0.1% Following Dividend Announcement

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 0.1% on Wednesday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $976.92 and last traded at $977.93. 365,865 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 2,000,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $976.92.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 2nd. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company's fifty day moving average price is $975.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $952.32. The company has a market cap of $441.24 billion, a PE ratio of 58.40, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion for 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at $38,242,687. This trade represents a 8.06 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Gary Millerchip sold 1,100 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $940.01, for a total transaction of $1,034,011.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 11,165 shares in the company, valued at $10,495,211.65. This trade represents a 8.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock worth $5,215,915 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Lion Street Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.3% in the first quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 8,522 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,060,000 after purchasing an additional 427 shares during the period. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 4,456 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $4,214,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.9% during the first quarter. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,290,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Clarius Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 17.4% in the first quarter. Clarius Group LLC now owns 8,661 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,284 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.9% in the first quarter. Creative Capital Management Investments LLC now owns 576 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.