Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by Bellecapital International Ltd.

Bellecapital International Ltd. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,715 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 600 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 3.5% of Bellecapital International Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Bellecapital International Ltd.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Birchbrook Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 456 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC now owns 159 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the second quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Busey Bank raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the third quarter. Busey Bank now owns 2,651 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,454,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on COST shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,025.00 to $1,027.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,218.00 to $1,171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $947.00 to $917.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $992.08.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 3,381 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.00, for a total transaction of $3,093,615.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,912,100. This represents a 25.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,720 shares of company stock valued at $9,010,257 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Northcoast Research upgraded COST from Neutral to Buy and set a $1,100 price target (roughly +26% upside from recent levels), a near-term catalyst for bullish flows. Northcoast Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Yahoo Finance reports Costco “breaks 3 records” — a headline that reinforces momentum around membership, sales and comps (positively read by investors even before full detail disclosure). Costco breaks 3 records
• Positive Sentiment: Forbes published a piece outlining specific catalysts and execution paths that could drive a rally in COST — a constructive analyst/strategy view that supports more optimistic positioning. How Costco Stock Can Rally
• Positive Sentiment: The Motley Fool (and syndicated repeat) published bullish commentary framing COST as a long-term wealth-builder, reinforcing investor confidence in the membership model and repeat purchase economics. Is Costco Stock a Multimillionaire Maker?
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks compares Target vs. Costco on upside potential — this frames COST as resilient (membership/digital momentum) but highlights peer execution differences investors are weighing. Target vs. Costco
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketBeat flagged COST as among household names showing rare oversold signals into year-end — a technical setup that can attract short-term buying if momentum stabilizes. Oversold Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted increased investor attention on COST (summary pieces that raise visibility but don’t change fundamentals). Investor Attention
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer/operational items — a regional product feature (MSN), holiday hours/closures and a planned one-day shutdown article — are interest items for customers but unlikely to move fundamentals materially. Regional Costco Find Holiday Closure

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:COST opened at $873.35 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $902.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $939.07. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.65 billion, a PE ratio of 46.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The business’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a global chain of membership-only warehouse clubs that sell a wide array of merchandise in bulk at discounted prices. The company’s product mix includes groceries, fresh and frozen food, household goods, electronics, apparel, and seasonal items, augmented by its prominent private-label brand, Kirkland Signature. Costco’s business model centers on annual membership fees and high-volume, low-margin sales, designed to drive repeat purchasing and strong customer loyalty among both consumers and small-business buyers.

Beyond merchandise, Costco provides a range of ancillary services that complement its warehouses, including gasoline stations, pharmacy and optical services, hearing aid centers, photo services, and travel and insurance products.