Costco Wholesale Company Profile (NASDAQ:COST)

Costco Wholesale trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "COST."

Costco Wholesale declared a special dividend on Tuesday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $7.00 per share on Friday, May 26th. This represents a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 10th. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous special dividend of $0.45. View Costco Wholesale's Dividend History.

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May, 25th. The company reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $28.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.57 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 20.06% and a net margin of 2.02%. The business's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. View Costco Wholesale's Earnings History.

26 analysts have issued 1-year target prices for Costco Wholesale's stock. Their predictions range from $152.50 to $200.00. On average, they anticipate Costco Wholesale's stock price to reach $182.06 in the next year. View Analyst Ratings for Costco Wholesale.

Here are some recent quotes from research analysts about Costco Wholesale stock:

• 1. Citigroup Inc analysts commented, "COST reported 1Q17 EPS of $1.17 (-5.5% y/y) below of our $1.35 estimate and the Street's $1.36. Reasons we'd buy COST on a post-2Q dip: 1) The new credit card benefitted 2Q EPS by $0.16 and is seeing strong trends in account activation, card usage and new sign-ups. 2) COST announced a North American membership fee increase of ~10% to go into effect 6/1. The additional revenue affords COST the ability to further invest in pricing for members, an important lever for growth. 3) Online sales reaccelerated to +12% in 2Q, from +8% in 1Q, driven by COST's investments in site functionality, merch availability and delivery/returns. 4) The dynamics underlying our expectation for accelerating SSS growth in 2H17 remain in place. 5) COST's capital structure is solid, supporting our belief that another special dividend could be paid this year. We reiterate our Buy rating on COST." (3/6/2017)
• 2. Cowen and Company analysts commented, "In addition to appreciating $39.99 red roses we are buyers of COST as we expect steady traffic gains should continue on superior value and brands, an appealing shopping experience, & a global runway of growth. The qtr. did highlight changes ahead including promotional direct mail changes, membership fee increases, & online expansion ' these factors should help fortify long-term growth. What's MVM?.. We believe Costco is well positioned to continue delivering double-digit earnings growth over the near to medium term driven by square footage growth, steady membership revenue growth, and positive same-store sales comps. Costco's higher income customer base (average household income of ~$96,000) is faring better economically than low- to middle-income consumers, who continue to struggle with wage growth. We believe superb price/value, luxury product, and streamlined assortment helps drive a sustainable high-margin membership stream. Rated Outperform with a $170 PT based on ~28x FY2017E EPS." (3/3/2017)
• 3. BMO Capital Markets analysts commented, "Costco reported a large F2Q17 EPS miss given several margin-related headwinds. On the positive side, Costco also announced it is raising membership fees in the U.S. and Canada on June 1 by ~9% and U.S. customer traffic remained a solid +3% in February. We rate COST shares Outperform with a $180 target price." (3/3/2017)
• 4. Wells Fargo & Co analysts commented, "We are raising our FY17/18 EPS estimates by $0.02 each to $5.85/$6.50 owing primarily to recent fluctuations in FX and fuel. Reiterate Market Perform." (2/2/2017)
• 5. Guggenheim analysts commented, "COST's (NEUTRAL, $162.06) January sales release will likely have mixed news, albeit with a modestly positive bias. On the positive front, US comps, ex-fuel, are likely to be the strongest in more than a year, lending further credence to the accelerating operating momentum thesis. That said, this result would be bolstered by the cycling of nearly 200 basis points of one-time adverse factors a year ago, Canada and Other International comps are likely to be somewhat below-trend on 10% plus year-ago results, and we would not expect an MFI announcement. Given the importance of the US and steadily improving sentiment, a positive reaction is likely." (1/30/2017)

Costco Wholesale same-store sales rose 3% during the month of April. Costco Wholesale stock climbed by 0% in the first day of trading following the news.

Costco Wholesale saw a drop in short interest during the month of April. As of April 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,129,885 shares, a drop of 14.6% from the April 13th total of 8,344,788 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,120,415 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Some companies that are related to Costco Wholesale include Target (TGT), Dollar General Corp. (DG), Dollar Tree (DLTR), Burlington Stores (BURL), PriceSmart (PSMT), Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings (OLLI), Big Lots (BIG), Fred's (FRED), Tuesday Morning (TUES) and Zulily (ZU).

Costco Wholesale's management team includes the folowing people:

• Jeffrey H. Brotman, Chairman of the Board, Co-Founder
• W. Craig Jelinek, President, Chief Executive Officer, Director
• Richard A. Galanti, Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President
• Ron M. Vachris, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Merchandising
• Paul G. Moulton, Executive Vice President, Chief Information Officer
• Franz E. Lazarus, Executive Vice President - Administration
• John D. McKay, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer - Northern Division
• James P. Murphy, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer - International
• Joseph P. Portera, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer - Eastern and Canadian Divisions, Chief Diversity Officer
• Timothy L. Rose, Executive Vice President - Ancillary Businesses, Manufacturing, and Business Centers

Costco Wholesale's stock is owned by a variety of of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional investors include Vanguard Group Inc. (7.45%), BlackRock Inc. (5.51%), State Street Corp (4.13%), Wellington Management Group LLP (3.75%), FMR LLC (2.76%) and Bank of New York Mellon Corp (1.42%). Company insiders that own Costco Wholesale stock include David S Petterson, Dennis R Zook, Douglas W Schutt, Franz E Lazarus, James D Sinegal, James P Murphy, Jeffrey H Brotman, Jill S Ruckelshaus, John D Mckay, John W Meisenbach, John W Stanton, Joseph P Portera, Paul G Moulton, Richard A Galanti, Richard M Libenson, Roland Michael Vachris and Timothy L Rose. View Institutional Ownership Trends for Costco Wholesale.

Costco Wholesale's stock was sold by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including Wellington Management Group LLP, Renaissance Technologies LLC, Winslow Capital Management LLC, OppenheimerFunds Inc., Montag & Caldwell LLC, Neuberger Berman Group LLC, Parametric Portfolio Associates LLC and Jennison Associates LLC. Company insiders that have sold Costco Wholesale stock in the last year include David S Petterson, Dennis R Zook, Douglas W Schutt, James D Sinegal, Jill S Ruckelshaus, John D Mckay, John W Meisenbach, Paul G Moulton, Richard A Galanti, Richard M Libenson, Roland Michael Vachris and Timothy L Rose. View Insider Buying and Selling for Costco Wholesale.

Costco Wholesale's stock was bought by a variety of institutional investors in the last quarter, including BlackRock Inc., Ameriprise Financial Inc., Vanguard Group Inc., Magellan Asset Management Ltd, Geode Capital Management LLC, Janus Capital Management LLC, Swiss National Bank and Teachers Advisors LLC. View Insider Buying and Selling for Costco Wholesale.

Shares of Costco Wholesale can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages include Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Scottrade, Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

One share of Costco Wholesale stock can currently be purchased for approximately $177.86.