Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 1.2% – Should You Sell?

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) shares dropped 1.2% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $920.55 and last traded at $924.67. Approximately 2,896,839 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the average session volume of 2,238,698 shares. The stock had previously closed at $935.47.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised forward earnings expectations for Costco, with Erste Group nudging FY2027 EPS estimates higher. That reinforces confidence that Costco can keep growing profitably. Can Costco Outgrow Retail Headwinds on Balance Sheet Strength?
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage emphasizing Costco’s executive membership growth and rising fee income suggests its high-margin membership model could unlock more earnings, especially as it expands into new markets like China. Costco’s Executive Penetration Could Unlock More Earnings
• Positive Sentiment: New warehouse openings in Texas point to continued store expansion, which supports traffic, sales growth, and long-term market share gains. Costco cashes in on 2 new Texas warehouses opening this summer. Here’s where

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on 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. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, June 1st. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,061.45.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $410.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.88. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $993.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $971.96.

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 the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $672,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720,130 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,282,182,000 after buying an additional 5,472,968 shares during the period. Cardano Risk Management B.V. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 907.1% in the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 1,785,080 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,539,346,000 after buying an additional 1,607,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $980,857,000 after buying an additional 1,070,005 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% 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.