Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD Buys 601 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 41.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,049 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 601 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 1.8% of Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Provident Co of the Employees of the Hebrew University LTD’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hurley Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total value of $732,204.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,139,485.42. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $769.00 to $781.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,060.41.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco posted another strong month, with May net sales up 14.5% year over year to $24.01 billion and comparable sales still running at a healthy pace, reinforcing the view that traffic and spending trends remain solid. Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports May Sales Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continued to point to Costco’s defensive fundamentals, strong U.S. comparable sales, fuel-driven traffic, and growing digital business as reasons for optimism on the stock. Costco Stock (COST) Keeps Wall Street Split despite Accelerating Sales
• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s ability to hold up during the broader market sell-off underscored its reputation as a defensive retailer, which may have helped support investor interest. Why Costco Stock Held Steady During Friday’s Market Sell-Off
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles framed Costco as a high-quality long-term compounder, but also emphasized that its premium valuation leaves less room for error if growth slows. Costco stock price shocks market despite major blowout quarter
• Neutral Sentiment: Costco’s valuation remains a debate point on Wall Street, with some analysts maintaining Buy ratings and high price targets while others argue the stock already reflects much of the good news. Costco: Robust Comps and Reaccelerating Digital Sales Support Buy Rating, Price Target Reaffirmed at $1275
• Negative Sentiment: One recent note argued that Costco’s strong quarter was not enough to offset valuation worries, suggesting investors may be hesitant to pay up after the recent sales-driven rally. Costco’s Strong Quarter Still Leaves Investors with a Valuation Problem

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $971.87 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $431.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,006.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $963.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 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 paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.