Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Still a Buy?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) were up 1.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $961.64 and last traded at $952.54. Approximately 8,228,505 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 271% from the average session volume of 2,218,054 shares. The stock had previously closed at $942.24.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco is expanding its ancillary business with the opening of its first standalone gas station in Mission Viejo, California, which reinforces the company’s ability to deepen member engagement and support traffic beyond warehouse sales. Costco’s first standalone gas station opens in Southern California
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighting Costco’s cash generation and the possibility of a special dividend later in 2026 is likely supporting investor optimism, since such payouts can be a meaningful catalyst for shareholder returns. Costco’s Cash Pile Is Building. Is a Special Dividend Coming in the Second Half of 2026?
• Positive Sentiment: Investor interest is rising, with Costco showing up as a heavily searched stock on Zacks, suggesting traders are actively reassessing the name amid recent news flow. Investors Heavily Search Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST): Here is What You Need to Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles continued to highlight Costco’s strong brand, membership model, and popular product assortments, but these were mostly commentary pieces rather than fresh catalysts. The rise of Costco: An iconic American brand with a fanatic following
• Neutral Sentiment: A director sale of 885 shares by Kenneth Denman was disclosed, but the transaction was relatively small versus his remaining holdings, so the signal is limited even if it adds some caution to sentiment. SEC filing for Kenneth D. Denman transaction
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling can still weigh on shares near term, especially when investors are already focused on valuation and whether Costco’s growth premium is getting stretched. Insider Selling: Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Director Sells 885 Shares of Stock

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,061.45.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.1%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $996.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $970.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $422.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.91, a P/E/G ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 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 company had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total transaction of $847,343.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,620,717 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,615,889,000 after purchasing an additional 165,349 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,919,573,000 after purchasing an additional 26,690 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,523,423 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,212,433,000 after purchasing an additional 107,775 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,488,203,000 after purchasing an additional 773,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $672,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720,130 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.