Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 15.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,953 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 551 shares during the quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Graney & King LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.8% during the second quarter. Graney & King LLC now owns 173 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Seneschal Advisors LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Seneschal Advisors LLC now owns 3,142 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,110,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Busey Bank raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the third quarter. Busey Bank now owns 2,651 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,454,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pasadena Private Wealth LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,299,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Roth Mkm restated a “sell” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,134.00 to $1,146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 target price for the company. Northcoast Research set a $1,100.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,218.00 to $1,171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,006.19.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $989.29 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $912.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $930.22. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $844.06 and a 1 year high of $1,078.23. The company has a market capitalization of $439.12 billion, a PE ratio of 52.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.85 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.04 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.85%.

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company reported robust January sales — net sales of $21.33 billion, up 9.3% year-over-year, with comps and digital growth cited in coverage; that beat expectations and is being cited as the core reason for the stock’s strength. GlobeNewswire: January Sales Blockonomi: Sales context
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised targets and kept bullish ratings — Oppenheimer to $1,100 (Outperform), Mizuho to $1,065 (Outperform), and other upbeat notes — reinforcing upside expectations. The Fly: Oppenheimer InsiderMonkey: Mizuho
• Positive Sentiment: Fund flows into defensive consumer staples (BofA note) are lifting shares as investors rotate out of tech, giving Costco a macro tailwind. Benzinga: BofA flows
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating with a $1,000 target — little near-term change implied by that note (small upside from current levels). Benzinga: DA Davidson
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation questions: coverage from Barron’s and Yahoo Finance flags that staples, including Costco, look pricey after recent multi-year share gains and a high P/E — a potential dampener if sentiment shifts. Barron’s: Staples frothy Yahoo Finance: Valuation piece
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/legal watch items: a California recall of pastries over undeclared nuts and a lawsuit challenging “no preservatives” labeling on rotisserie chicken create small near-term risk and potential PR/legal costs. KRON4: Recall Meat & Poultry: Labeling lawsuit

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Javier Polit sold 558 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $862.89, for a total transaction of $481,492.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 10,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,792,849.10. This represents a 5.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total value of $437,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,148,060. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.