Research Analysts Issue Forecasts for COST Q4 Earnings

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) - Stock analysts at William Blair lifted their Q4 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, May 7th. William Blair analyst P. Blee now expects that the retailer will post earnings per share of $5.93 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $5.85. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale's current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Cfra Research upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $935.00 to $995.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, May 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.1 %

COST traded up $0.99 during trading on Friday, reaching $1,008.70. 1,175,590 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,029,974. The company's fifty day moving average price is $958.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $963.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $447.54 billion, a PE ratio of 59.23, a P/E/G ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $771.43 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $63.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

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

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

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.