Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 2.1% – What’s Next?

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price rose 2.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1,009.21 and last traded at $998.86. Approximately 2,961,830 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 11% from the average daily volume of 2,660,325 shares. The stock had previously closed at $978.14.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages raised price targets or reiterated bullish views, supporting the rally — Evercore ISI boosted its price target to $1,050. Evercore ISI Boosts Costco Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein lifted its target to $1,155 and kept an Outperform, citing resilience in the quarter and positioning COST as a Roth-IRA candidate — a bullish endorsement that can attract long-term money. Bernstein Boosts Costco Target
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan commentary flagged upside to the stock, reinforcing buy-side confidence and likely contributing to intraday buying pressure. JPMorgan Says COST Expected to Rise
• Positive Sentiment: Industry and market write-ups emphasize Costco’s long-term growth profile and YTD momentum, which can sustain investor interest (articles discuss whether COST can reach $1,200 and highlight growth scores). Can Costco Stock Hit $1,200?
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate persists — Zacks notes Costco trades at a high multiple (forward P/E ~46x) and recommends a “hold” for some investors despite solid comps and renewal/digital trends. This tempers upside for value-sensitive funds. Is Costco Stock a Buy Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the feed show an anomalous “large increase” but list zero shares and a 0.0 days ratio — the data appears unreliable and should not be over-interpreted; low reported short interest would be supportive if accurate. (Data timestamp Feb 11–12.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Customer-interest pieces (e.g., members impressed by regional store features) boost brand sentiment but are unlikely to move results materially in the short term. Members in Awe of Regional Stores
• Negative Sentiment: Costco issued a recall of mini beignets over an undeclared hazelnut allergen across multiple states — a reputational and operational nuisance; typically a modest financial hit but worth monitoring for broader food-safety headlines. Costco Recalls Mini Beignets

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,218.00 to $1,171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,009.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 2.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $443.36 billion, a PE ratio of 53.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $918.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $931.46.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.04 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total value of $1,776,913.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,320,773.08. This represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total transaction of $1,408,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,101,943. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,110 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital & Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,567 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,532,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.