Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Quadrant Capital Group LLC

Quadrant Capital Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,713 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,209 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 107.7% during the third quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 27 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Burk Holdings LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Value proposition strengthened by inflation: With consumer prices rising 3.7% year over year and gasoline prices up sharply, Costco’s low-margin, high-volume model and reported 14% markup cap could attract shoppers seeking lower prices. Inflation and Costco’s value model
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: CICC initiated coverage of Costco with an “Outperform” rating, adding a new bullish view on the company’s long-term prospects. CICC Costco coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Expansion and membership durability: Costco operates 292 of its 939 warehouses outside the U.S. and Puerto Rico, leaving room for overseas membership growth. Articles also highlight the company’s strong customer retention, a feature that supports recurring membership revenue. Costco overseas membership growth
• Positive Sentiment: Digital execution: Costco, Walmart and Target are benefiting from faster delivery, AI-enabled shopping and marketplace partnerships, supporting continued e-commerce growth. Retail digital sales growth
• Neutral Sentiment: ETF purchases and coverage describing Costco’s desserts, pumpkin pie, tote bags and planned South Meridian warehouse opening reinforce brand engagement and store expansion, but are unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. ETF purchases of Costco
• Neutral Sentiment: Costco’s supplier controls and food-safety procedures may protect customer trust, though attention to food-safety risks highlights an ongoing operational issue for grocery retailers. Costco food-safety procedures
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation risk: Costco trades at the highest earnings multiple among six large retailers in one comparison, despite ranking only fifth in operating margin. That premium leaves less room for execution disappointments and may limit upside. Costco valuation versus rivals
• Negative Sentiment: Walmart’s aggressive holiday-sales ambitions and early Black Friday promotions reinforce competitive pressure, particularly around price and convenience. Walmart holiday competition

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $781.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 25th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $1,050.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,015.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,125.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Twenty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,086.19.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total transaction of $2,015,046.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,244.62. The trade was a 23.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $958.21, for a total transaction of $1,054,031.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,964,701.74. This represents a 26.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $998.31 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,096.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $935.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $962.90. The stock has a market cap of $442.38 billion, a PE ratio of 48.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.25 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94.97 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid 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 is Friday, October 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.32%.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells merchandise in bulk and at competitive prices through warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms, serving individual consumers, businesses and other organizations.

Its product selection includes groceries and fresh foods, household supplies, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, health and beauty products, jewelry, automotive products and prescription drugs. Costco also provides services such as optical care, pharmacy services, hearing-aid sales, travel offerings and fuel sales, depending on location.

The company traces its roots to Price Club, which opened in San Diego in 1976.