J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 2,564 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,259 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,564 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $21,529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $5,692,035,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,364,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,328 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 711,560 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,248,384,000 after buying an additional 383,887 shares during the period. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. grew its position 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 worth $317,722,000 after buying an additional 318,876 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $977.92 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $434.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.38, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.01. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $909.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $929.46.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Key Headlines Impacting 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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on COST. Daiwa Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $947.00 to $917.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, December 29th. Gordon Haskett boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,033.00 to $926.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $998.50.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 8,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,550,476.80. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total transaction of $1,776,913.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,320,773.08. The trade was a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,315 shares of company stock worth $8,549,409 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale 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.