CI Investments Inc. Trims Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

CI Investments Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,048 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,696 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,706,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming Q2 earnings on March 5 are the main near-term catalyst; consensus models and COST’s history of earnings surprises are raising expectations for another beat. Can Costco Keep the Earnings Surprise Streak Alive?
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish research pieces (growth, momentum, broker commentary) are supporting demand for the stock and framing COST as a growth/momentum name for 2026. 3 Reasons Why Growth Investors Shouldn’t Overlook Costco
• Positive Sentiment: Operational/competitive momentum: new pilot program attracting Sam’s Club customers and a favorable credit‑card change that widens Costco’s consumer edge—both reinforce share gains via market-share and membership strength. A New Costco Pilot Program Is Poaching Sam’s Club Customers Costco credit card change gives it a $1,000 edge on Sam’s Club
• Positive Sentiment: Store growth and real‑estate wins (new openings, anchor deals like Viva White Oak / Montgomery County) support long‑term sales footprint expansion. Costco signs on for Viva White Oak project in Montgomery County
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the last 48 hours appear noisy/malformed (showing zero shares), implying no clear short‑pressure signal for today’s move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market volatility from geopolitical events could pressure risk assets and temper upside, but these are market‑wide drivers rather than Costco‑specific. Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures plunge
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: some analysts argue COST is richly valued (high P/E vs. retail peers) and suggest trimming positions near the $1,000 level—this keeps profit‑taking risk elevated around the earnings date. Sell Costco Stock At $1,000?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho raised their price objective on 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. Finally, Evercore set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,016.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 16th. The shares were 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total value of $838,321.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,169,907.28. This represents a 16.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST stock opened at $1,007.77 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $954.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $935.09. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,067.08. 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 company has a market capitalization of $447.32 billion, a PE ratio of 53.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.01.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The company had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.04 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 27.85%.

Costco Wholesale 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.