Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co

W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,009 shares of the retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,741 shares during the period. W.G. Shaheen & Associates DBA Whitney & Co's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hurley Capital LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total transaction of $732,204.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,139,485.42. The trade was a 10.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,155.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, February 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,171.00 to $1,088.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, February 27th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $1,185.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Twenty-two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,045.97.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan analysis says Costco is roughly “60% cheaper than traditional grocery,” underscoring a widening value gap that supports market-share gains and defensive retailing in a price-sensitive environment. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group marginally raised its FY2027 EPS forecast for Costco to $22.52 (from $22.47), a small but constructive analyst upgrade vs. consensus, which supports higher forward earnings expectations. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to flag Costco as the most price-competitive among peers (vs. WMT, AMZN), reinforcing its durable membership flywheel and margin resilience over time. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Costco increased its dividend (reported among large-cap dividend raises), which is supportive for income-focused investors and signals confidence in cash generation. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Costco quietly changed the $1.50 hot dog + soda combo (product/content tweak) while keeping the price intact — a symbolic move for branding/operations but not material to fundamentals. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: New product placements (Häagen‑Dazs ice cream bar at Costco) and consumer gadget roundups keep merchandising fresh but are minor drivers of stock moves. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate retail headlines compare Costco favorably to Target, reinforcing the membership model’s strength; useful context but already reflected in sentiment. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Murphy USA (MUSA) beat Q1 estimates — not directly related to Costco but part of broader retail/consumer fuel-cost and convenience-store dynamics. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some analysts and commentators argue Walmart’s evolution into ad/data monetization gives it more near-term upside than Costco, suggesting relative multiple compression risk for COST. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Jim Cramer and others note Costco’s rich valuation (~49x reported earnings), a reminder that even positive execution faces multiple/valuation risk. Article Title

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $998.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $443.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.93, a PEG ratio of 4.92 and a beta of 0.99. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,067.08. The company's fifty day moving average price is $996.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $949.46.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The retailer reported $4.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $69.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is presently 27.04%.

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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