Park National Corp OH Buys 1,447 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Park National Corp OH increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,814 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,447 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $30,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 49.3% during the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,780 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,499,000 after buying an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Permanent Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $874,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 23,444 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,700,000 after acquiring an additional 7,116 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,781,000. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 18,132 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $17,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on COST. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Gordon Haskett upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,044.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, January 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, February 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,185.00 price objective on the stock. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,039.13.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $972.33 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $431.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a fifty day moving average of $984.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $938.57. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,067.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $69.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 2.99%.The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.02 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.04%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total transaction of $1,408,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,101,943. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total transaction of $838,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,228 shares in the company, valued at $4,169,907.28. This represents a 16.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 7,645 shares of company stock valued at $7,049,302 in the last three months. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.