Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,949 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,314 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 13,616 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,479,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,780 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. Permanent Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth approximately $874,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,799 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,640,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,920,107,000 after purchasing an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on COST shares. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. BTIG Research initiated coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,134.00 to $1,146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,033.00 to $926.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $998.50.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 1.0%

COST stock opened at $977.92 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $909.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $929.46. The stock has a market cap of $434.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.38, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total value of $1,776,913.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares in the company, valued at $9,320,773.08. The trade was a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total value of $838,321.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,169,907.28. This represents a 16.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,315 shares of company stock worth $8,549,409 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Membership revenue acceleration — Costco reported a 14% jump in membership fees in Q1 FY26, driven by high renewals and executive upgrades, supporting predictable, resilient cash flow. Costco’s Membership Model Continues to Deliver Predictable Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Exceptionally sticky base — Renewal rates of ~92.3% in the U.S./Canada and ~89.8% worldwide underline the durability of Costco’s membership engine and recurring profit contribution. Nine Out of Ten Costco Members Renew
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support lifted — Gordon Haskett raised its price target to $1,100, implying notable upside versus recent levels, which can attract buyers and validate upside expectations. Gordon Haskett Adjusts Price Target on Costco
• Positive Sentiment: Telsey reaffirms outperform with $1,100 target — another bullish signal from the sell side that can support demand. Telsey Advisory Group Reaffirms Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reporting appears to contain data anomalies (zeros/NaN and a 0.0 days-to-cover). This looks like a reporting glitch rather than a material change in short exposure. (internal short-interest entries)
• Neutral Sentiment: New-store activity — a ~$37M construction project in New Braunfels signals continued network expansion (incremental revenue potential but not immediate margin driver). $37M Costco construction soars in New Braunfels
• Negative Sentiment: Product recall — Costco recalled mini beignets due to mislabeling/allergy risk across multiple states. This is reputational and operationally inconvenient but appears limited in scale. Costco recalls mini beignets after packaging mix-up
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/downgrade noise — at least one roundup (InvestorPlace) included a downgrade of Costco within blue-chip ranking updates; such headlines can create short-term selling pressure even if fundamentals remain intact. FedEx Upgraded, Costco Downgraded

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.