Vestcor Inc Buys 1,159 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Vestcor Inc raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,667 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,159 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $19,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,692,035,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,364,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,328 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after purchasing an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,248,384,000 after purchasing an additional 383,887 shares during the period. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15,055.5% in the 2nd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 320,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $317,722,000 after purchasing an additional 318,876 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco posted a Q2 earnings beat (EPS $4.58 vs. $4.55 est.) and raised sales, reinforcing the company’s resilient sales and margins — this helped lift sentiment. Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 1.6% After Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson (and other brokers) lifted several price targets — the largest raise reported pushes the target to $1,315, signaling bullish long-term estimates from at least one shop. Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $1,315.00
• Positive Sentiment: Additional analyst target increases ($1,125 / $1,100 / $1,060 / $977 reported) add to bullish bias from some firms, supporting upside expectations. Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target Raised to $1,125.00
• Positive Sentiment: Management said potential tariff refunds from a federal trade court ruling would likely be passed to members via lower prices — this could reinforce Costco’s value proposition and membership retention. Costco Tariff Refunds Could Reinforce Low Prices And Membership Value
• Positive Sentiment: Local expansion: Port St. Lucie is moving closer to landing a Costco store — continued steady store growth underpins long-term sales runway. Port St. Lucie moves closer to landing a Costco retail store
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson reiterated a Neutral rating (limits immediate upside despite higher targets from other houses). Costco Wholesale’s (COST) Neutral Rating Reiterated at DA Davidson
• Neutral Sentiment: Citi maintained a Neutral rating with a $1,000 target — a sign some large brokers see limited near-term multiple expansion. Citi Maintains Neutral Rating on Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) with $1000 Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Discussion around a potential stock split and new residential/warehouse concepts are being debated by commentators — interesting for liquidity/strategy but not immediate catalysts. Costco’s $1,000 Price Tag Makes A Stock Split Hard To Ignore
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs cut its price target to $1,088, signaling some analyst skepticism on upside from current levels. The Goldman Sachs Group Cuts Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Price Target to $1,088.00
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure: BJ’s and other warehouse rivals are stepping up strategies to lure shoppers, which could pressure market share or margins in certain regions. BJ’s Wholesale makes bold move to lure more shoppers

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on COST. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,035.35.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total transaction of $437,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,148,060. The trade was a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total transaction of $1,776,913.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,320,773.08. This trade represents a 16.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,097. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST opened at $998.10 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $961.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $935.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $443.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $844.06 and a 1 year high of $1,067.08.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $69.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.02 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.04%.

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.