Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC

Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 137.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,858 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,032 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.8% of Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $2,781,000. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 20,081 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,835,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 140,429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $121,098,000 after acquiring an additional 27,625 shares during the period. Curtis Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Curtis Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,911,000 after acquiring an additional 1,641 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perryman Financial Advisory Inc. AD purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,300,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories 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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at $4,575,653.55. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,050.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,175.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,175.00 to $1,315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Twenty-two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,061.45.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $952.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,096.50. The stock has a market cap of $422.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $996.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $971.12.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its 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). The company had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.28 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. 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. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 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.