Costco Stock Nears All-Time Peak Amid Dividend, Buyback Buzz

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ:COST) are up 1.1% to trade at $1,078.05 this morning, after the bulk retailer announced a special cash dividend of $30 per share, worth roughly $13.3 billion. This came alongside a reauthorized stock repurchase program for $4 billion, which will run through the next four years. Investors who hold the stock at the close on Nov. 24 will be eligible for payment. 

Today's bull gap has the stock headed for its highest close since its May 19 record high of $1,096. The shares have added 25% in 2026, with recent support stemming from the ascending 20-day moving average, following a bounce off the $880 mark in late September. 

Dividend buzz has triggered a handful of price-target hikes, the highest from Bernstein to $1,115 from $1,143. In fact, more bull notes could be on the way, as COST sports an average 12-month price target of $1,074.48 -- a roughly 1% deficit to current levels.

Despite its upside on the charts, short-term traders have been leaning bearish. This is per Costco stock's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.17, which ranks in the 90th percentile of its 12-month range.

Options are looking affordable, too. Specifically, COST's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 22% stands higher than just 28% of all other readings from the past year.