Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) To Go Ex-Dividend on October 30th

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share by the retailer on Friday, November 13th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 30th.

Costco Wholesale has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 22 years. Costco Wholesale has a dividend payout ratio of 29.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Costco Wholesale to earn $24.93 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $5.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.6%.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $992.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $940.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $969.21. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,096.50. The firm has a market cap of $439.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.79 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.97 billion. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.87 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale will post 22.70 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Robert W. Baird set a $1,175.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,065.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,144.00 to $1,143.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,200.00 to $1,095.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,160.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Twenty-five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,086.19.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells merchandise in bulk and at competitive prices through warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms, serving individual consumers, businesses and other organizations.

Its product selection includes groceries and fresh foods, household supplies, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, health and beauty products, jewelry, automotive products and prescription drugs. Costco also provides services such as optical care, pharmacy services, hearing-aid sales, travel offerings and fuel sales, depending on location.

The company traces its roots to Price Club, which opened in San Diego in 1976.