Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys 15,117 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 162.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 24,449 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 15,117 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for about 0.8% of Simplicity Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,871,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,919,573,000 after buying an additional 26,690 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,523,423 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,212,433,000 after acquiring an additional 107,775 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,488,203,000 after acquiring an additional 773,651 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $672,690,000 after acquiring an additional 6,720,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after acquiring an additional 5,472,968 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s membership program remains a key long-term growth engine, with recurring membership revenue and renewal strength potentially supporting profitability and cash flow. Costco Has a Secret Growth Engine
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to view Costco as a durable long-term compounder; one projection suggests a $10,000 investment could grow to $13,400 over five years, although that is an opinion rather than company guidance. Costco Five-Year Investment Projection
• Positive Sentiment: Costco is expanding its physical footprint with a new Celina, Texas, warehouse, while a delivery upgrade could improve convenience and sales of popular merchandise. Costco Celina Warehouse
• Positive Sentiment: A partnership with SCAN Health Plan to offer Medicare Advantage and supplemental plans could create an additional member-engagement and revenue opportunity, though the financial impact is not yet clear. Costco and SCAN Medicare Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: New projects in Newington, New Hampshire, involving Costco and other companies are advancing, but the report provides limited information on Costco’s direct financial benefit. Newington Projects Advance
• Negative Sentiment: Costco’s premium valuation leaves little room for disappointment: the company recently reported quarterly EPS of $4.93, narrowly missing the $4.94 consensus estimate, despite revenue exceeding expectations. Its P/E ratio near 47 also increases sensitivity to weaker-than-expected results. Costco Stock Performance and Key Facts
• Negative Sentiment: Costco is refunding certain tariff duties while defending a related class-action lawsuit. Refund costs, possible liabilities, and reputational concerns may weigh on investor sentiment. Costco Tariff Refunds and Lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure is increasing as JCPenney targets the same value-oriented, “treasure hunt” retail appeal, potentially challenging Costco’s customer engagement at the margin. JCPenney Targets Costco’s Retail Strategy

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on COST shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,185.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Twenty-two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,059.53.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $934.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,096.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $945.92 and a 200-day moving average of $980.16. The company has a market cap of $414.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.87.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.58%.

Insider Activity

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

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.