Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA

Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 670.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,717 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,494 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 4.1% of Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,563,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,359,224,000 after purchasing an additional 5,749,362 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,488,203,000 after purchasing an additional 773,651 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $672,690,000 after buying an additional 6,720,130 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,282,182,000 after acquiring an additional 5,472,968 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,328,729 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,732,836,000 after purchasing an additional 143,150 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on COST shares. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,125.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. HSBC upgraded Costco Wholesale to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,046.27.

Costco Wholesale News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong September sales: Costco reported September net sales of $30.02 billion, up 13% year over year. Companywide comparable sales increased 11.4%, while comparable sales excluding gasoline and foreign-exchange effects rose 7.6%. U.S. comparable sales increased 12.5%, supported by higher traffic and transaction growth. Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports September Sales Results
• Positive Sentiment: Digital and membership momentum: Online sales reportedly grew 19%, reinforcing Costco’s retail momentum. Coverage also points to the company’s popular merchandise and new offerings as potential drivers of membership sign-ups and customer engagement. Costco’s September Sales Rise 13% on Strong Comps, Digital Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed its “sector perform” rating but set a $1,000 price target, implying moderate upside from recent trading levels. UBS also characterized September trends as accelerating. Royal Bank of Canada rating update Costco September Sales Point to Accelerating Trends
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain measured: DA Davidson maintained a “hold” rating following a warehouse-club tour, suggesting that strong traffic is already balanced against valuation and margin concerns. DA Davidson Costco warehouse tour
• Negative Sentiment: Growth quality and valuation risks: Analysts caution that part of September’s comparable-sales surge may have come from higher gasoline prices and other lower-margin or one-time benefits. COST trades at roughly 45 times earnings, leaving limited room for execution misses or margin pressure. Costco’s Sales Rebound in September

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded down $4.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $943.63. The stock had a trading volume of 605,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,187,891. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $418.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $930.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $963.49. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $95.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.97 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.87 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total value of $2,015,046.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,244.62. This represents a 23.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells a broad selection of merchandise, including groceries, fresh foods, beverages, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal products. It also offers services such as gasoline, pharmacies, optical departments, hearing-aid centers, food courts, travel services, and business delivery in selected markets.

Costco markets many products under its private-label Kirkland Signature brand and sells merchandise through warehouse locations and e-commerce platforms.