Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Purchases 577,537 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 140.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 989,626 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 577,537 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $853,394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hurley Capital LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the third quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lifted its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings forecasts for Costco, signaling expectations for stronger profitability ahead.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary in 24/7 Wall St. emphasized Costco’s membership-fee model as a resilient source of recurring revenue that can support long-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Barchart coverage noted Costco as one of the retail names rewarding shareholders with a higher dividend, reinforcing the company’s capital-return appeal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage that Costco offers shopping without a membership in limited cases is mainly informational and not likely to materially affect the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: The Iowa court decision involving a former Costco manager appears to be a legal headline with limited direct impact on the company’s overall financial outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg reported rising plastic input costs may lead to higher prices for consumer goods later this year, which could add inflation pressure to Costco’s retail environment and potentially squeeze margins or demand.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on COST. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,050.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $982.35 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $1,005.34 and its 200-day moving average is $966.74. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,096.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market cap of $435.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations 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 prior year, the firm posted $4.28 EPS. Sell-side 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.