Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Acquires 987 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,664 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 987 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 1.8% of Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $23,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,620,717 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $37,615,889,000 after purchasing an additional 165,349 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,919,573,000 after purchasing an additional 26,690 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth 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. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 6,720,130 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after buying an additional 5,472,968 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on COST. Citigroup assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,104.00 to $1,106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,061.45.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several articles highlighted Costco’s strong underlying business, including robust recent results, high membership renewal rates, and ongoing expansion initiatives such as digital and retail-media efforts that could support longer-term growth. Costco Wholesale (COST) Posts Strong Results, Is It Fully Priced?
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage also pointed to Costco’s scale advantage and continued sales momentum, with commentary noting fiscal 2025 revenue of about $275.24 billion and a Q3 FY2026 update that suggests the company’s growth engine is still working well. Costco’s $250 Billion Expansion Strategy Keeps Delivering Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst- and investor-focused articles remained constructive on Costco’s long-term compounding ability and its potential to expand into areas like retail media, reinforcing the view that the business still has multiple growth levers. Can Costco Stock Build a Meaningful Retail Media Business?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several pieces were largely commentary or retrospective pieces about Costco’s past returns, which may support sentiment but do not add new fundamental information for investors. If You’d Invested $10,000 in Costco 10 Years Ago, Here’s How Much You’d Have Today
• Negative Sentiment: One newly surfaced lawsuit alleges Costco sold Orgain protein supplements contaminated with heavy metals, creating a potential legal and reputational overhang even though the financial impact is still unclear. Hagens Berman: Consumer Lawsuit Against Costco Alleges Toxic Heavy Metals in Orgain Protein Supplements

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $947.50 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $987.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $974.59. The firm has a market cap of $420.20 billion, a PE ratio of 47.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.88. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total transaction of $847,343.25. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,575,653.55. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.