On May 25, 2023 at 15:38:19 ET an unusually large $544.69K block of Call contracts in Costco Wholesale (COST) was bought, with a strike price of $500.00 / share, expiring in 36 day(s) (on June 30, 2023). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 2.03 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 100.00th percentile of all recent large trades made in COST options.

This trade was first picked up on Fintel’s real time Options Flow tool, where unusual option trades are highlighted.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 4092 funds or institutions reporting positions in Costco Wholesale. This is an increase of 4 owner(s) or 0.10% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to COST is 0.76%, a decrease of 2.02%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 12.32% to 374,865K shares. The put/call ratio of COST is 1.14, indicating a bearish outlook.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 15.71% Upside

As of May 11, 2023, the average one-year price target for Costco Wholesale is 558.61. The forecasts range from a low of 469.65 to a high of $666.75. The average price target represents an increase of 15.71% from its latest reported closing price of 482.76.

See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.

The projected annual revenue for Costco Wholesale is 249,005MM, an increase of 6.24%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is 14.82.

What are Other Shareholders Doing?

Ofi Invest Asset Management holds 48,856K shares representing 11.02% ownership of the company.

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 13,453K shares representing 3.03% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 13,217K shares, representing an increase of 1.76%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in COST by 9.14% over the last quarter.

VFINX – Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares holds 10,232K shares representing 2.31% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 10,041K shares, representing an increase of 1.86%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in COST by 9.26% over the last quarter.

Geode Capital Management holds 8,210K shares representing 1.85% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 8,099K shares, representing an increase of 1.36%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in COST by 2.04% over the last quarter.

Bank Of America holds 8,124K shares representing 1.83% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 7,770K shares, representing an increase of 4.36%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in COST by 73.83% over the last quarter.

Costco Wholesale Declares $1.02 Dividend

On April 19, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.02 per share ($4.08 annualized). Shareholders of record as of May 5, 2023 received the payment on May 19, 2023. Previously, the company paid $0.90 per share.

At the current share price of $482.76 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 0.85%.

Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 0.83%, the lowest has been 0.54%, and the highest has been 1.20%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.15 (n=236).

The current dividend yield is 0.10 standard deviations above the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.30. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.46%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

Costco Wholesale Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores. The company offers sundries, dry groceries, candies, coolers, freezers, liquor, and tobacco and deli products; appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, garden and patio products, sporting goods, tires, toys and seasonal products, office supplies, automotive care products, postages, tickets, apparel, small appliances, furniture, domestics, housewares, special order kiosks, and jewelry; and meat, produce, service deli, and bakery products.

Key filings for this company:

• UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K ? ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended August 28, 2022 ? TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION

This article originally appeared on Fintel

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