Costco Wholesale (COST) will raise its quarterly dividend to $0.50 per share. Also a $7.00 per share special dividend will be paid.

The special dividend will be payable May 26, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 10, 2017. The aggregate payment will be approximately $3.1 billion. The special dividend will be funded primarily through additional borrowings. The special dividend will be in addition to the Company’s regular quarterly cash dividend of 50 cents per share that was also declared today, which will also be payable on May 26, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 12, 2017. That amount represents a quarterly increase of 5 cents per share.

Richard Galanti, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, commented: “Today’s announcement of a $7.00 special dividend is our latest step in returning capital to our shareholders. Our strong balance sheet and favorable access to the credit markets allow us to provide shareholders with this dividend, while preserving financial and operational flexibility to continue to grow our business globally. Costco will continue to be in a financial position allowing us to take care of our employees, enhance the value of the Costco membership, and create shareholder value over the long term.”

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership warehouses, offering its members low prices on a limited selection of nationally branded and private-label products. The company has operations in the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Australia, Spain, and Iceland and France. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea, and Taiwan. Costco Wholesale Corporation began operations in 1983 in Seattle, Washington. In October 1993, Costco merged with The Price Company, which had pioneered the membership warehouse concept in 1976, to form Price/Costco, inc., a Delaware corporation. In 1997 the company changed its name to Costco Companies, Inc. and in 1999, the company changed its name to Costco Wholesale Corporation.