Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) fell 1.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $978.14 and last traded at $979.92. 1,431,234 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 2,323,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $996.16.
Key Costco Wholesale News
Here are the key news stories impacting Costco Wholesale this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Costco is keeping fuel prices low with a deliberate pricing strategy to stay cheaper than competitors, which can drive continued traffic and membership value. As Gas Prices Soar, Costco’s Using This Smart Strategy To Stay Cheaper Than Most
- Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive: consensus ratings across brokerages show a majority buy/moderate-buy stance, supporting investor confidence. Costco Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
- Positive Sentiment: Costco upgraded its retail-media platform, a potential new ad-revenue stream that can boost margins over time. Costco upgrades its retail media platform
- Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish write-ups (seeking-alpha coverage and long-term valuation defenses) are reinforcing the narrative that Costco’s membership model and pricing power can sustain outperformance. Costco: A Likely Outperformer Based On The Business Model
- Neutral Sentiment: CEO Ron Vachris addressed questions about the $1.50 hot dog combo, offering clarity to a vocal part of Costco’s brand/PR — removes a potential source of uncertainty but has limited direct earnings impact. Costco CEO gives update on future of $1.50 hot dog and soda combo
- Neutral Sentiment: Costco added new Kirkland Signature items (and launched a private-label refrigerated dog food), moves that can deepen margins and member loyalty but may take time to scale. Costco adds Kirkland Signature items
- Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage and investor-interest pieces (Zacks, Yahoo, TipRanks) are drawing attention to COST, which can amplify trading activity but not necessarily change fundamentals. Costco is Attracting Investor Attention
- Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk: COST trades at a premium (P/E around 50x), leaving limited room for error if same-store sales or margin expansion disappoint — this makes the stock sensitive to any weaker-than-expected data.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
COST has been the topic of several research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,044.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $1,100.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Twenty-two equities research 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,039.13.
Costco Wholesale Stock Performance
The company’s fifty day moving average price is $983.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $938.37. The company has a market cap of $431.37 billion, a PE ratio of 50.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.
Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.04%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.32, for a total value of $1,374,480.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,550,476.80. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total value of $1,408,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,101,943. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 7,645 shares of company stock valued at $7,049,302 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Soundwatch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the period. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC increased 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 buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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