1,961 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Bought by Norris Perne & French LLP MI

Norris Perne & French LLP MI acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,961 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 107.7% during the 3rd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 27 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 14 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Burk Holdings LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains strong. CICC initiated coverage with an Outperform rating, while Tigress Financial raised its price target to $1,250. Erste Group also increased its FY2028 EPS estimate to $25.07 from $25.01, above the current-year consensus estimate of $22.70. CICC coverage article Tigress Financial price target article
• Positive Sentiment: Growth and customer engagement remain key positives. Costco’s membership model has delivered substantial long-term shareholder returns, and the company is reportedly using purchasing data to better target high-spending members. REJURAN Cosmetics is also expanding through Costco’s first Beauty Table program, potentially adding traffic and broadening its premium beauty offering. Costco customer spending article REJURAN retail expansion article
• Neutral Sentiment: Long-term growth screens are favorable, and analysts’ average recommendation is equivalent to a Buy. However, these reports largely reiterate existing optimism rather than provide a new earnings catalyst. Zacks growth stock article
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and competition remain concerns. Costco trades at a high earnings multiple, leaving the stock sensitive to profit-taking or disappointing growth. Kroger is planning major investments and price cuts to win back market share from Costco and Walmart, which could intensify grocery competition and pressure margins. Kroger competition article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,230.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, September 28th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,175.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $781.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Twenty-five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,086.19.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,003.32 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,096.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $937.96 and its 200 day moving average is $962.82. The company has a market capitalization of $444.60 billion, a PE ratio of 48.33, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $95.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.97 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 27.60%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.87 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $958.21, for a total value of $1,054,031.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,094 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,701.74. This trade represents a 26.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were 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 $6,534,244.62. The trade was a 23.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells merchandise in bulk and at competitive prices through warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms, serving individual consumers, businesses and other organizations.

Its product selection includes groceries and fresh foods, household supplies, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, health and beauty products, jewelry, automotive products and prescription drugs. Costco also provides services such as optical care, pharmacy services, hearing-aid sales, travel offerings and fuel sales, depending on location.

The company traces its roots to Price Club, which opened in San Diego in 1976.