Permanent Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Permanent Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 944 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $874,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Birchbrook Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 456 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the second quarter. Wagner Wealth Management LLC now owns 330 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $326,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Busey Bank grew its position in 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 buying an additional 11 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $900.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $992.08.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. This trade represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total value of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,860,260. This represents a 54.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,339 shares of company stock worth $5,916,642. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $873.35 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a market capitalization of $387.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.78, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $902.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $938.67.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

More 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 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.