Griffin Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Griffin Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,703 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Brown Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the third quarter. Brown Wealth Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS now owns 655 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $606,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Somerset Group LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,906,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the third quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 71 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,171.00 to $1,088.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,052.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,139,485.42. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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: 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

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of COST stock opened at $1,074.01 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,096.50. The stock has a market cap of $476.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.85, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,006.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $958.67.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.58%.

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.