Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires 3,314 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,949 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $5,692,035,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,364,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,328 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after purchasing an additional 711,560 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,248,384,000 after purchasing an additional 383,887 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15,055.5% during the 2nd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 320,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $317,722,000 after buying an additional 318,876 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Roth Mkm set a $769.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $998.50.

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Membership revenue acceleration — Costco reported a 14% jump in membership fees in Q1 FY26, driven by high renewals and executive upgrades, supporting predictable, resilient cash flow. Costco’s Membership Model Continues to Deliver Predictable Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Exceptionally sticky base — Renewal rates of ~92.3% in the U.S./Canada and ~89.8% worldwide underline the durability of Costco’s membership engine and recurring profit contribution. Nine Out of Ten Costco Members Renew
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support lifted — Gordon Haskett raised its price target to $1,100, implying notable upside versus recent levels, which can attract buyers and validate upside expectations. Gordon Haskett Adjusts Price Target on Costco
• Positive Sentiment: Telsey reaffirms outperform with $1,100 target — another bullish signal from the sell side that can support demand. Telsey Advisory Group Reaffirms Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting appears to contain data anomalies (zeros/NaN and a 0.0 days-to-cover). This looks like a reporting glitch rather than a material change in short exposure. (internal short-interest entries)
• Neutral Sentiment: New-store activity — a ~$37M construction project in New Braunfels signals continued network expansion (incremental revenue potential but not immediate margin driver). $37M Costco construction soars in New Braunfels
• Negative Sentiment: Product recall — Costco recalled mini beignets due to mislabeling/allergy risk across multiple states. This is reputational and operationally inconvenient but appears limited in scale. Costco recalls mini beignets after packaging mix-up
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/downgrade noise — at least one roundup (InvestorPlace) included a downgrade of Costco within blue-chip ranking updates; such headlines can create short-term selling pressure even if fundamentals remain intact. FedEx Upgraded, Costco Downgraded

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.32, for a total value of $1,374,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,550,476.80. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total value of $1,776,913.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,320,773.08. The trade was a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,315 shares of company stock worth $8,549,409. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $977.92 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $909.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $929.46. The company has a market cap of $434.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.01. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,078.23.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.85%.

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.