Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 1.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) shares were up 1.3% during trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $1,060.00 to $1,110.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Costco Wholesale traded as high as $1,000.67 and last traded at $999.89. Approximately 2,335,973 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the average daily volume of 2,185,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $987.21.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Costco Wholesale from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,045.97.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,169,907.28. This represents a 16.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total value of $732,204.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,139,485.42. This trade represents a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco raised its quarterly dividend ~13% to $1.47 (payable May 15; record May 1), a sign of strong cash flow and management confidence that lifted investor sentiment. Costco Raises Its Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Major banks bumped price targets — JPMorgan raised its PT to $1,110 and Mizuho to $1,100 while keeping bullish ratings, signaling analyst conviction in upside vs. current levels. JPMorgan Adjusts PT Mizuho Adjusts PT
• Positive Sentiment: Operational and sales momentum: Costco reported strong March net sales and recent quarterly results that beat expectations, reinforcing growth and margin resilience. Analysts cite that momentum as part of the bull case alongside the dividend move. Bull Case for Costco
• Positive Sentiment: Product exclusives and in-warehouse surprises — Costco continues to roll out exclusive large-format items and even popular fast-food products that drive foot traffic and impulse buys. These merchandising wins help differentiate membership value. Costco Adds Fast-Food Product Exclusive Aussie Product
• Neutral Sentiment: Checkout and store tech improvements (automated pay stations, AI pricing/markdowns) aim to speed throughput and reduce perishables waste; these are positive long-term but will take time to scale. Automated Pay Stations Grocers Use AI
• Neutral Sentiment: Competitive dynamics: Sam’s Club and BJ’s are making localized gains and Sam’s Club fee moves could reshape pricing among warehouse clubs; this could benefit Costco if it retains perceived value, but it’s an evolving factor. Competitors Gaining Traction Sam’s Club Fees
• Negative Sentiment: Fuel sales are elevated (adds revenue/traffic), but analysts warn there’s a caveat around margins and sensitivity to gas price swings; persistent high fuel/traffic volatility could dampen same-store trends. Gas Sales Catch

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 838.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after buying an additional 5,472,968 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 907.1% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 1,785,080 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,539,346,000 after buying an additional 1,607,833 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $980,857,000 after buying an additional 1,070,005 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,697,000 after buying an additional 986,182 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $443.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $995.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $944.71.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $69.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.02 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.04%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.