Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Key Points

• Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its Costco stake by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 30,209 additional shares and bringing its total to 247,238 shares valued at about $213.2 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive: several analysts raised price targets, and Costco now has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $1,060.41.
• Costco reported quarterly EPS of $4.93, just below estimates, while revenue topped expectations at $70.53 billion; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.47 per share from $1.30.

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 13.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 247,238 shares of the retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 30,209 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Costco Wholesale worth $213,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in COST. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,781,000. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 20,081 shares of the retailer's stock worth $15,835,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 140,429 shares of the retailer's stock worth $121,098,000 after buying an additional 27,625 shares in the last quarter. Curtis Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 56.7% in the 4th quarter. Curtis Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,911,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 399,894 shares of the retailer's stock worth $370,140,000 after buying an additional 5,937 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lifted its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings forecasts for Costco, signaling expectations for stronger profitability ahead.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary in 24/7 Wall St. emphasized Costco’s membership-fee model as a resilient source of recurring revenue that can support long-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Barchart coverage noted Costco as one of the retail names rewarding shareholders with a higher dividend, reinforcing the company’s capital-return appeal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage that Costco offers shopping without a membership in limited cases is mainly informational and not likely to materially affect the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: The Iowa court decision involving a former Costco manager appears to be a legal headline with limited direct impact on the company’s overall financial outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg reported rising plastic input costs may lead to higher prices for consumer goods later this year, which could add inflation pressure to Costco’s retail environment and potentially squeeze margins or demand.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on COST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,104.00 to $1,106.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,125.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Twenty-two research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $982.35 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,096.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $1,005.34 and a 200-day moving average of $967.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $435.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. The company had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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