Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 2,066 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 31.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,444 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,066 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hurley Capital LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

More Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target on Costco to $1,275 and kept a buy rating, signaling confidence that the stock still has room to run ahead of earnings. Benzinga report on UBS target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to back Costco into Q3, with commentary that strong membership renewals and steady traffic may be enough to support another solid quarter even if results are not spectacular. TipRanks article
• Positive Sentiment: Higher gas prices may be steering more shoppers to warehouse clubs like Costco for discounted fuel, which could lift traffic and reinforce the company’s value proposition. Benzinga article on gas-driven traffic
• Positive Sentiment: Recent articles highlighted Costco’s strong 2026 performance, record highs, and speculation about a future stock split, all of which can keep investor enthusiasm elevated. Yahoo Finance article on stock split speculation
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage around new food court items, UK store updates, and Costco being a trending stock may help keep the brand in the spotlight, but these headlines are unlikely to materially change the near-term earnings picture.
• Negative Sentiment: Some traders are taking profits after the stock’s strong recent rally and six-session winning streak, which is contributing to the pullback today. MSN article on pullback after winning streak
• Negative Sentiment: Costco faces a high expectations bar heading into Q3 results, so even a good report could disappoint if it does not exceed the market’s elevated hopes. Yahoo Finance article on high expectations

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,104.00 to $1,106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,192.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,052.60.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,074.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $476.48 billion, a PE ratio of 55.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.92. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,096.50. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $1,006.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $958.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $69.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total transaction of $732,204.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,139,485.42. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.