Focus Partners Wealth Boosts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth boosted its Costco stake by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, adding 69,135 shares and bringing its total holding to 348,598 shares worth about $303.2 million.
• Several analysts raised their price targets on Costco, with firms including BMO Capital Markets, Raymond James, Bank of America, and Oppenheimer maintaining generally bullish views. The stock currently carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $1,060.41 average price target.
• Costco reported quarterly revenue of $70.53 billion, topping estimates, though EPS missed by a penny. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.47 per share from $1.30, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile.

Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 348,598 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 69,135 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned 0.08% of Costco Wholesale worth $303,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hurley Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% during the third quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,175.00 to $1,315.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,185.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Twenty-two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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 NASDAQ COST opened at $982.35 on Monday. 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 business's 50 day moving average price is $1,005.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $967.31. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,096.50. The company has a market cap of $435.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.41, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.The business had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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