Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Madison Asset Management LLC

Madison Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,095 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 837 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,080,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,920,107,000 after purchasing an additional 711,560 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,141,062,000 after buying an additional 90,107 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,124,263,000 after buying an additional 150,844 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $5,692,035,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,248,384,000 after acquiring an additional 383,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $971.23 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $917.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $931.14. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $431.10 billion, a PE ratio of 52.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.01.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 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 company had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.04 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 9th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,550,476.80. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total value of $838,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,169,907.28. This trade represents a 16.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets and reiterated bullish ratings — Evercore ISI bumped its price target to $1,050 and kept an “outperform” call, and JPMorgan raised its target to $1,050 with an “overweight” rating; these lifts imply upside vs. the current price and may underpin investor interest. Evercore ISI price target raise The Fly
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: RFG Advisory increased its stake in COST (small position increase disclosed), which signals continued fund-level confidence in the business. RFG Advisory buys Costco shares
• Positive Sentiment: Local development pipeline: city approvals moving forward for a new Costco at Seminole Towne Center, which supports long-term footprint expansion and sales growth. Sanford moves forward with Costco development
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend speculation: commentary on the possibility of another large special dividend can buoy investor demand (special dividends historically lift sentiment). Will Costco treat investors to another special dividend?
• Neutral Sentiment: Interest and coverage pieces (Zacks, Yahoo, Motley Fool) highlight Costco as a trending name and discuss January sales strength and upcoming Q2 results — these drive attention but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Zacks trending stock piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in the feed is effectively zero/invalid and provides no meaningful bearish pressure (no actionable signal).
• Negative Sentiment: Consumer issues: reports that some gift cards sold at Costco are now worthless could hurt member trust and generate negative headlines. Some gift cards sold at Costco are now worthless
• Negative Sentiment: Recall and safety warnings: a nationwide recall update with warnings of “severe” reactions raises potential liability and PR risk; such stories can pressure the stock near-term until resolved. Costco recall update

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho increased their target price 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, February 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,155.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given 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 a consensus target price of $1,009.00.

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.