Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Makes New Investment in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,185 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,979,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,919,573,000 after purchasing an additional 26,690 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,523,423 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,212,433,000 after acquiring an additional 107,775 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,488,203,000 after purchasing an additional 773,651 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $672,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after buying an additional 5,472,968 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Delivery expansion could boost engagement: Costco is now offering delivery for customizable sheet cakes and party platters, improving convenience and potentially encouraging larger, higher-margin event-related purchases. Costco delivery for cakes and party platters
• Positive Sentiment: Physical expansion continues: Costco opened its first warehouse in Celina, Texas, one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. New locations can add membership revenue and sales over time, although the financial contribution will develop gradually. Costco opens Celina store
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term investor appeal remains intact: Commentary highlights Costco’s strong competitive moat, membership economics and potential for dividend growth. Its partnership with SCAN Health Plan to offer Medicare Advantage and supplemental plans also provides a potential new customer-engagement channel. Costco Medicare partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Pricing strategy is both a strength and a challenge: Costco continues to hold its iconic rotisserie chicken at $4.99 by controlling production costs. The price reinforces customer loyalty, but inflation and supply costs could pressure margins if the company maintains the price indefinitely. Costco rotisserie chicken and inflation
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and valuation concerns are weighing on sentiment: Costco is refunding certain tariff duties while contesting a related class-action lawsuit, creating uncertainty over costs and potential liabilities. Separately, the stock’s high earnings multiple and position below its 200-day moving average leave it vulnerable to profit-taking; its latest quarterly EPS narrowly missed estimates despite a revenue beat. Costco tariff refunds and lawsuit

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the sale, the director owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at $4,575,653.55. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on COST shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Citigroup began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho set a $1,100.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,120.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,059.53.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $945.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $419.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $945.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $979.80. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. The business had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.58%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.