Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $115.06 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,425 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,689 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $115,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,781,000. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 20,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,835,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 140,429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $121,098,000 after acquiring an additional 27,625 shares in the last quarter. Curtis Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 56.7% during the fourth quarter. Curtis Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,641 shares during the period. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 399,894 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $370,140,000 after purchasing an additional 5,937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said investors “buy some here,” reinforcing a bullish view on Costco as a long-term holding despite a tougher consumer backdrop. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Costco reported strong May net sales growth, including a 14.5% year-over-year increase, and one article noted digital sales jumped 21% while gas volumes hit a record, signaling healthy demand across key categories. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighted Costco’s continued membership and traffic strength, with analysts and commentators pointing to upside and strong institutional interest in the stock. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Costco is also drawing attention for ESG and governance reasons after CEO Ron Vachris was recognized for board diversity leadership, which may matter to some investors but is not an immediate earnings driver. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Costco is fighting a class-action lawsuit over its $5 rotisserie chicken, with plaintiffs alleging misleading “no preservatives” marketing, creating a potential reputational and legal overhang. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary also suggests Costco may face tougher comparisons in a price-sensitive consumer environment, with rivals like Dollar Tree seen as having a pricing advantage on smaller-pack items. Article title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,050.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $769.00 to $781.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $983.37 on Thursday. 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 $436.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.47, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.88. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,096.50. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $1,006.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $966.09.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $1.47 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.58%.

Costco Wholesale 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.