Sepio Capital LP Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Sepio Capital LP lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,315 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hurley Capital LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Costco, lifting FY2026 EPS to $20.49 and FY2027 EPS to $22.61, slightly above prior forecasts and reinforcing confidence in Costco’s long-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said he thinks investors should “buy some here,” adding another public bullish call on Costco and keeping the stock in focus as a defensive long-term holding.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple commentary pieces highlighted Costco’s membership-fee model as a durable, recurring-revenue engine, which continues to appeal to investors looking for steady compounding and defensive growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s CEO is set to receive a leadership honor for advancing women in corporate governance, adding a modest ESG/governance positive for institutional investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles noted that Costco allows some shopping without a membership in the U.S., a consumer-facing detail that may support traffic but is not likely to materially change fundamentals on its own. Confirmed: Costco Reveals the Only Way to Shop Without a Membership Anywhere in the United States
• Neutral Sentiment: Costco is fighting a lawsuit over claims that its $5 rotisserie chicken is falsely advertised as having “no preservatives,” which creates headline risk but has not yet been shown to affect operations. Costco fires back over lawsuit tied to iconic product as shoppers claim false advertising
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary comparing Costco with Dollar Tree suggested tighter consumer budgets could increase competition on value, which may pressure pricing power at the margin if shoppers trade down.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Evercore set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,185.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of COST stock opened at $975.69 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,005.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $966.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $432.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.08, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.58%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.