Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by DAVENPORT & Co LLC

DAVENPORT & Co LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 126,862 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,423 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $109,476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hurley Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the third quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s stock snapped a six-session losing streak, a technical turnaround that often attracts short‑term buying. Costco shares snap six-session losing streak
• Positive Sentiment: The Street highlights a secular tailwind as more Americans cut back on dining out, which benefits at‑home bulk grocery and membership retailers like Costco. That supports higher traffic and basket sizes. Costco sees big opportunity as Americans ditch restaurants
• Positive Sentiment: Costco launched a rival energy drink (reportedly impacting Celsius), signaling product expansion and private‑label premiumization that can boost margins and membership value. Celsius stock tumbles as Costco launches rival energy drink
• Positive Sentiment: Costco is expanding member services into fertility care and rolling out in‑store experiential events (outdoor cooking roadshow), diversifying revenue beyond bulk merchandise and strengthening membership stickiness. Costco Expands Member Offerings With Fertility Care And In Store Events
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst pieces (Zacks) reiterate a long‑term growth thesis driven by strong comparable sales, traffic and ticket growth—supporting investor confidence in earnings durability. Costco’s Comparable Sales Stay Strong: Is Traffic Driving Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple short‑interest reports show a “large increase” but list 0 shares / NaN changes and 0.0 days to cover — this appears to be a data glitch rather than meaningful shorting activity; investors should treat these entries as noise until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: InsiderMonkey included Costco on a list of “most overvalued companies,” a headline that can feed headline‑driven selling or cautious positioning given COST’s premium valuation metrics. 5 Most Overvalued Companies According to the Media

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $973.82 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business has a fifty day moving average of $985.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $938.64. The stock has a market cap of $432.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.64, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.01. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,067.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $69.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 2.99%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.02 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,185.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,175.00 to $1,315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,155.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Northcoast Research set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,039.13.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total value of $838,321.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,228 shares in the company, valued at $4,169,907.28. The trade was a 16.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total transaction of $1,408,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,101,943. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 7,645 shares of company stock valued at $7,049,302 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.