Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST is Empirical Asset Management LLC’s Largest Position

Empirical Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4,700.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,649 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,823 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 5.6% of Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest holding. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $36,700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,780 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Permanent Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $874,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,799 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,640,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd 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. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.6% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 23,444 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $21,700,000 after purchasing an additional 7,116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Broad-based comparable-sales strength: Costco reported rising traffic, ticket growth and digital gains across the U.S., Canada and international markets, supporting continued revenue momentum. Why Costco’s Comparable Sales Strength Looks Broad-Based Globally
• Positive Sentiment: Product rollouts driving traffic and category expansion: Costco is widening distribution of Levels Whey Protein and introduced a popular new double‑chocolate mint sundae — both items can boost in‑store visits and membership retention. Costco Expands Levels Whey Protein Costco’s new sundae becomes sweet sensation
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage is constructive overall: independent note shows consensus around a “Moderate Buy” rating and several analyst pieces highlight Costco’s stable profit profile, which can support demand for shares. Given Average Rating of ‘Moderate Buy’
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is elevated: Zacks and other outlets note heavy search/interest in COST, which can increase short‑term volume and volatility but is not directional by itself. Investors Heavily Search Costco
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/tariff context: analysis notes Costco may benefit from tariff rollbacks (lower input costs), but that thesis is partially offset by current premium valuation levels. A Tariff-Rollback Winner
• Negative Sentiment: New legal risk: Costco is facing another lawsuit related to its rotisserie chicken, creating potential legal expenses, reputational risk and headline volatility. Costco faces yet another lawsuit over its rotisserie chicken
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns and relative underperformance: several analysts and commentators argue Costco’s multiple is rich (labels like “unreasonable valuation”) and note the stock has underperformed the S&P 500 over the past year — pressures that can limit further upside and invite profit‑taking. Fantastic Company, Unreasonable Valuation Is Costco Underperforming the S&P 500?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on COST. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. HSBC decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $947.00 to $917.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,008.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total transaction of $437,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,148,060. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total transaction of $838,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,228 shares in the company, valued at $4,169,907.28. The trade was a 16.74% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,097. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $998.12 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,067.08. 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 market capitalization of $443.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.46, a PEG ratio of 5.20 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $939.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $934.41.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.85%.

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.