Although the dividend raise declared by Costco Wholesale (COST 2.65%) wasn't surprising, it did inject a fresh surge of bullishness into its stock. On Thursday, the big retailer's stock price rose nearly 3% on the back of the news, easily topping the 0.1% bump of the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.13%) that trading session.Another year, another dividend raiseJust after market close on Wednesday, Costco declared that its upcoming quarterly distribution would be $1.30 per share, which is a sturdy 12$1.16 ...