Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Keeps Sector Perform Rating at Royal Bank Of Canada

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST)‘s stock had its “sector perform” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $1,000.00 price objective on the retailer’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s target price indicates a potential upside of 9.30% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on COST. Mizuho decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,065.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,091.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 4th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,125.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,030.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,046.27.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5%

COST stock traded up $4.60 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $914.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,108,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,201,888. The stock has a market cap of $405.76 billion, a PE ratio of 44.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.86. Costco Wholesale has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,096.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $933.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $965.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.97 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale will post 22.86 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total transaction of $2,015,046.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 7,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,244.62. This represents a 23.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Defender Capital LLC. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Defender Capital LLC. now owns 11,555 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,519,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 463.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 2,040 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,678 shares in the last quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Roxbury Financial LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Montecito Bank & Trust now owns 9,663 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,797,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 327.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sarver Vrooman Wealth Advisors now owns 278 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s ancillary businesses—including gasoline, pharmacy and travel—are increasing member engagement, expanding share of wallet and potentially supporting higher-margin revenue. Costco’s Ancillary Businesses Expand Share-of-Wallet Opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Recent fiscal fourth-quarter results remain the primary bullish catalyst: revenue rose 11.1% year over year to $95.72 billion and earnings reached $6.75 per share, exceeding consensus estimates. Strong traffic, larger baskets, membership growth, digital sales and warehouse expansion reinforce Costco’s growth outlook. Costco Q4 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: New and converted Business Center locations in Texas and Kansas City should broaden Costco’s commercial customer base and add long-term sales capacity. Haltom City Business Center
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary remains supportive of Costco’s recurring membership-fee model and intermittent special dividends, although any future $10 or $15 special dividend is uncertain. Costco Special Dividend Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: AI-related demand may push up prices for certain electronics and other products, encouraging members to buy sooner but potentially creating affordability and margin considerations for retailers. Costco Prices and AI Demand
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares worth approximately $2.02 million, reducing her direct stake by 23.57%. The transaction does not indicate weaker fundamentals, but insider selling can weigh on sentiment. Claudine Adamo Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: At roughly 44 times earnings, COST remains expensive relative to much of retail. Analysts continue to cite limited room for execution mistakes, even though the consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy.”

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells a broad selection of merchandise, including groceries, fresh foods, beverages, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal products. It also offers services such as gasoline, pharmacies, optical departments, hearing-aid centers, food courts, travel services, and business delivery in selected markets.

Costco markets many products under its private-label Kirkland Signature brand and sells merchandise through warehouse locations and e-commerce platforms.