Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,365 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,296 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.4% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $88,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the first quarter worth about $166,000. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter worth about $558,000. Finally, Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 1st quarter valued at about $225,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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 Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of COST opened at $873.35 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $902.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $938.67. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $387.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.78, a PEG ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.00.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,218.00 to $1,171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,025.00 to $1,027.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. HSBC dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Northcoast Research set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $992.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,339 shares of company stock worth $5,916,642. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.