CX Institutional Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,236 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,172 shares during the period. CX Institutional’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 900.0% in the first quarter. Anderson Financial Strategies LLC now owns 40 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. This represents a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 558 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $862.89, for a total transaction of $481,492.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,190 shares in the company, valued at $8,792,849.10. The trade was a 5.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,946 shares of company stock worth $8,175,048 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: December net sales rose 8.5% to $29.86 billion and total-company comparable sales grew ~7% for the five-week month; digitally‑enabled sales jumped ~19%, highlighting sustained demand and e‑commerce strength. GlobeNewswire Sales Release
• Positive Sentiment: Mizuho upgraded COST to “Outperform” with a $1,000 price target, amplifying upside expectations and reinforcing the bullish analyst narrative. The Fly: Mizuho Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: William Blair reiterated a Buy on COST, citing robust holiday comps and arguing that recent weakness presents an attractive entry point for long‑term growth investors. TipRanks: William Blair Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains tilted positive overall (median price targets near ~$1,030), supporting a constructive medium‑term outlook but implying valuation dependence on continued traffic/margin resilience. QuiverQuant: Sales & Analyst Context
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry pieces highlight Costco’s retail‑media and membership durability as underappreciated long‑term drivers; these are strategic positives but not immediate catalysts. Seeking Alpha: Retail Media
• Positive Sentiment: Operational expansion: a new distribution center in Port St. Lucie is expected to open in March 2026, which should help supply/logistics as store and e‑commerce volumes grow. WFLX: Distribution Center
• Negative Sentiment: Quiver/other trackers show notable insider selling activity over recent months (multiple EVP sales), which can be viewed as a near‑term negative signal for market sentiment. QuiverQuant: Insider Activity
• Negative Sentiment: Local legal risk: a lawsuit alleges procedural issues in Paramus’ approval of a new Costco, which could delay or complicate that specific development and draw headlines. NorthJersey: Paramus Lawsuit

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Northcoast Research set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Finally, Mizuho set a $1,000.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $994.08.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of COST stock opened at $882.58 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $391.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.33 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $892.41 and its 200 day moving average is $932.63.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.04 EPS. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date 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.