Purpose Unlimited Inc. Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Purpose Unlimited Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 8,858 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,638,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472,968 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 907.1% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 1,785,080 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,539,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607,833 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $980,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,697,000 after purchasing an additional 986,182 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s latest operating update showed strong momentum, with comparable sales up 9.8%, membership fees rising 10.7%, and digitally enabled sales jumping 21.5%, reinforcing the company’s durable growth story. Prediction: Costco Will Trade At This Price in 2027
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to highlight Costco’s competitive advantages, loyal membership base, and ongoing technology investments to improve the shopping experience and ease customer pain points like parking. Costco tackles major frustration for members
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent articles frame the stock weakness as a possible buying opportunity, pointing to Costco’s resilient business model and long-term compounding potential. Why Weakness in Dividend-Paying Costco Stock Is a Strong Buying Opportunity
• Neutral Sentiment: Fresh media coverage around Costco products, store hours, and local development approvals is supportive of brand visibility, but these items are unlikely to materially move the stock on their own. Is Costco open on Juneteenth?
• Negative Sentiment: Investor sentiment remains cautious because Costco’s premium valuation is being questioned amid macro uncertainty and sticky inflation, with one recent note saying growth may not fully justify the stock’s price. Should You Buy Costco Stock for the Long Haul? Here’s the Honest Answer.
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst disagreement is also weighing on the shares, with one report noting Costco fell after Citi and Bernstein issued conflicting views on the big-box retailer. Costco Stock (COST) Drops as Analysts Can’t Agree on the Big-Box Retailer

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,061.45.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $951.45 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,000.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $969.01. The firm has a market cap of $421.95 billion, a PE ratio of 47.86, a P/E/G ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a $1.47 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

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.