Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC cut its Costco stake by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 1,834 shares and leaving it with 13,590 shares valued at about $11.72 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on Costco: analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with 21 Buy ratings, 11 Hold ratings, and an average price target of $1,051.18.
• Costco’s latest results were mixed but still solid, with revenue of $70.53 billion beating estimates while EPS of $4.93 slightly missed expectations; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.47 per share.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,590 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 1,834 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $11,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer's stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer's stock worth $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,110 shares of the retailer's stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 8,502 shares of the retailer's stock worth $8,416,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on COST shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,050.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $1,051.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco reported stronger-than-expected sales, including U.S. same-store sales growth of 9.8% and adjusted comparable sales up 6.6%, showing that demand remains resilient even in a pressured consumer environment.
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue came in above Wall Street expectations, with $70.53 billion in quarterly sales versus estimates of $69.68 billion, reinforcing the company’s ability to keep growing at scale.
• Positive Sentiment: Membership and gas-related traffic appear to be supporting results, with higher fuel prices bringing more shoppers into warehouses and boosting basket sizes and same-store sales.
• Neutral Sentiment: EPS of $4.93 was slightly below the consensus estimate of $4.98, making the report mixed rather than uniformly strong, even though profits still improved year over year.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pre-earnings articles framed Costco as a high-quality defensive retailer with a premium valuation, suggesting investors may continue to focus on whether the stock can justify its elevated multiple.
• Negative Sentiment: The small earnings miss could temper enthusiasm in the near term, especially given the stock’s recent run-up and the market’s high expectations heading into the print.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $995.20 on Friday. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $1,008.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $962.53. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,096.50. The company has a market cap of $441.52 billion, a PE ratio of 51.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.92.

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 $4.98 by ($0.05). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 2.99%.The company had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.33 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is 30.58%.

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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