ING Groep NV Sells 46,148 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

ING Groep NV trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,564 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 46,148 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $86,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,141,062,000 after acquiring an additional 90,107 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 150,844 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,692,035,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,248,384,000 after purchasing an additional 383,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Gordon Haskett raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Hovde Group began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Twenty-two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,009.00.

Costco Wholesale News Summary

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,228 shares in the company, valued at $4,169,907.28. This represents a 16.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 558 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,792,849.10. This trade represents a 5.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,097. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.6%

COST opened at $971.23 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $917.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $931.14. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The company had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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