William Blair Issues Positive Estimate for COST Earnings

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Equities researchers at William Blair increased their Q4 2025 EPS estimates for Costco Wholesale in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, May 30th. William Blair analyst P. Blee now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings per share of $5.98 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $5.93. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Costco Wholesale's FY2026 earnings at $20.55 EPS.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on COST. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, April 11th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $1,035.32.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $1,055.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,990,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,052,077. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $468.35 billion, a PE ratio of 61.98, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $986.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $977.03. Costco Wholesale has a 52-week low of $793.00 and a 52-week high of $1,078.24.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The business had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is 30.36%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total transaction of $3,924,280.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total value of $830,304.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at $6,445,926.72. This trade represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 173 shares of the retailer's stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 52.1% in the 1st quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,423 shares of the retailer's stock worth $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,908 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $7,480,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.8% in the first quarter. Nova Wealth Management Inc. now owns 444 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Apeiron RIA LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 703 shares of the retailer's stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.