Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Acquired by Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC

Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 27.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,197 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 905 shares during the quarter. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 22,111 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,467,000 after purchasing an additional 587 shares during the period. Dupree Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 35.3% during the third quarter. Dupree Financial Group LLC now owns 280 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $259,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 5.5% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 79,754 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $73,823,000 after buying an additional 4,193 shares during the last quarter. Baer Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 53.5% during the third quarter. Baer Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,602 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,334,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 830 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $768,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Board raised shareholder returns with a confirmed quarterly cash dividend of $1.30 per share (payable Feb. 13), which supports income-focused demand and underpins buyer interest. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and momentum stories are signaling a breakout after late-2025 weakness; analysts and commentators pointing to stronger December sales and improving charts are drawing short-term buyers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple long-term investor pieces highlight Costco’s resilient membership model, renewal economics and international expansion as durable tailwinds that keep buy-and-hold interest elevated. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Consumer-facing features (e.g., food-court pricing, membership perks) and new incentives to upgrade members to Executive status may help average spend and renewals over time, supporting the revenue mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer and lifestyle write-ups (buy-and-hold lists, product highlights) keep brand visibility high but are unlikely to move the stock materially by themselves. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options-flow commentary notes unusually active put activity on Costco — framed as a strategy for acquiring shares without overpaying; this highlights price sensitivity but isn’t a direct directional signal. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: EVP James Klauer and other executives disclosed mid-January share sales (Klauer sold 1,500 shares), which can create short-term selling pressure and raise investor caution even if sales are routine. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a constraint—COST trades at a premium versus peers (~50x earnings), so the stock is sensitive to any sign of slowing sales/margin improvement; some coverage highlights that premium as a risk to near-term gains. Read More.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,134.00 to $1,146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $769.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $947.00 to $917.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,225.00 to $1,130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $996.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,946 shares of company stock worth $10,958,028. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $963.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $427.72 billion, a PE ratio of 51.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $894.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $930.25.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.04 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.