Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 1,262 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,873 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 0.5% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $30,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 2,651 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,454,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Tandem Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the third quarter. Tandem Investment Partners LLC now owns 990 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $916,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optima Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.9% in the third quarter. Optima Capital LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after buying an additional 11 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Gordon Haskett raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, December 12th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,218.00 to $1,171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,009.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.6%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $971.23 on Wednesday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $917.30 and its 200-day moving average is $931.14. The firm has a market capitalization 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 Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 27.85%.

More Costco Wholesale News

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 related news, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,320,773.08. This trade represents a 16.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,550,476.80. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 6,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,097. 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.