Teresa Jones Sells 850 Shares of Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) EVP Teresa Jones sold 850 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total value of $838,321.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,169,907.28. The trade was a 16.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $7.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $983.25. 1,679,216 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,943,449. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market cap of $436.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $899.07 and its 200-day moving average is $930.26.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The business had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 1,740 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,500,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. TFC Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 32.6% in the 4th quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 1,212 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Bingham Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $572,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 21,135 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,225,000 after acquiring an additional 4,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Guidance Capital Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Guidance Capital Inc. now owns 2,628 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,266,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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: Analysts expect Costco to report strong fiscal Q2 results, with previews calling for double-digit profit growth — investors view this as confirmation of resilient demand and margin stability. Earnings Preview: What to Expect From Costco Wholesale’s Report
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish analyst pieces argue Costco remains a buy for 2026 and beyond, emphasizing membership retention, steady sales/profit growth and defensive consumer-staples characteristics. This supportive coverage helps underpin the rally. Is Costco Stock a Buy in 2026?
• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s membership perks continue to be a strategic growth lever — coverage highlights a past controversial perk and four new 2026 benefits aimed at boosting member value and retention, which supports long-term revenue visibility. Costco Introduced a Controversial Perk Last Year — and It Plans to Follow This Up With 4 New Benefits in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Operational/UX improvements: reporting says Costco is adopting a tech upgrade used by competitors to improve the member experience — a potential driver of basket size and visit frequency. Costco borrows tech upgrade from competitor to boost member experience
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail buzz and product-level popularity (popular Costco finds, wholesale flowers) are helping brand engagement but are unlikely to move fundamentals materially in the near term. ‘I’ve Been Using This Stuff Every Day For About 2 Years’
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading/technical interest: a pattern-trade roundup lists Costco as a top seasonal idea (speculative short‑term upside), which can attract momentum traders but isn’t a fundamental endorsement. 5 Best Pattern Trades for This Quarter
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish/critical takes: Seeking Alpha published pieces urging caution or a sell-the-rally stance, arguing the strong start may be short‑lived — these raise concerns about near-term momentum and give some investors reason to lock in gains. Costco: Strong Start To 2026 Likely Short-Lived
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation questions: coverage assessing Costco’s rich P/E highlights risk that upside is limited unless earnings justify the premium — a key watch for longer‑term investors. Assessing Whether Costco Wholesale (COST) Deserves Its Rich P/E
• Negative Sentiment: Minor insider activity: a disclosed sale of 458 shares by an executive may be viewed as a small negative signal, though the sale size is immaterial relative to the company’s scale. Susan Decker Sells 458 Shares of Costco Wholesale

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on COST shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,033.00 to $926.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Roth Mkm set a $769.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,025.00 to $1,027.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $996.00.

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.