Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Mariner LLC

Key Points

• Mariner LLC trimmed its Costco stake slightly in the fourth quarter, selling 3,561 shares and leaving it with 396,333 shares valued at about $341.8 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding 68.48% of Costco shares; meanwhile, analysts are still broadly positive, assigning a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $1,060.41.
• Costco recently reported quarterly earnings of $4.93 per share on revenue of $70.53 billion, slightly missing EPS estimates but beating revenue expectations, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.47 per share.

Mariner LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 396,333 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 3,561 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC owned 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $341,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,620,717 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $37,615,889,000 after acquiring an additional 165,349 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,919,573,000 after acquiring an additional 26,690 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,523,423 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $8,212,433,000 after acquiring an additional 107,775 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $5,195,415,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,937,286 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $3,395,301,000 after acquiring an additional 77,650 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,104.00 to $1,106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Evercore set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $1,125.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale News Summary

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.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $982.35 on Monday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $1,005.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $967.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.41, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.28 EPS. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share 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 issued a $1.47 dividend. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is presently 29.58%.

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.

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