JT Stratford LLC Raises Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

JT Stratford LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 57.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,375 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the quarter. JT Stratford LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

More Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming Q2 earnings after the close on March 5 — analysts expect another beat and technical indicators are bullish, making the report the main near-term catalyst for the stock. Should You Buy Costco Stock (COST) ahead of Q2 Earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Preview commentary and data point to another strong quarter (monthly sales and membership trends), and analysts note a chance Costco can highlight favorable effects from the recent tariff ruling. Costco Q2 Preview: Will Retailer Celebrate Tariff Ruling?
• Positive Sentiment: Positive media and analyst attention (predictions of a post-earnings surge, momentum stories) are keeping investor interest and buying interest elevated ahead of the print. Prediction: Costco Will Surge After March 5th
• Positive Sentiment: Ongoing expansion: multiple new-store openings and large real-estate deals (e.g., Viva White Oak) support long-term growth and membership roll-ups. Costco signs on for Viva White Oak project in Montgomery County
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: coverage questions whether COST has “run too far” after strong YTD gains — this raises profit-taking risk even if fundamentals remain healthy. Has Costco Wholesale (COST) Run Too Far?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst deep-dives and metric-level previews (Zacks, MarketBeat) are setting expectations for comps, traffic and membership metrics — useful for trading around the print but not directional until results land. Curious about Costco (COST) Q2 Performance?
• Negative Sentiment: Customer/PR noise and policy confusion (return policy coverage) could create short-term reputation headwinds and modest consumer pushback. Costco members confused over return policy rule
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data posted in some feeds is inconsistent/zeroed and is not a reliable current signal for days-to-cover or directional pressure. (Ignore noisy short-interest entries until cleaner data is released.)

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,155.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,044.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,016.18.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,006.74 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,067.08. The business’s 50 day moving average is $956.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $935.59. The company has a market capitalization of $446.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.01.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend 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 currently 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total transaction of $437,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,148,060. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,228 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097 in the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is 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.