Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Madison Asset Management LLC

Madison Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,095 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 837 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $25,080,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COST. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the second quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marquette Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2,200.0% during the 3rd quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 46 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock opened at $971.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.01. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,078.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $917.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $931.14.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.04 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total transaction of $1,408,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,101,943. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total transaction of $437,390.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,532 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,148,060. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 6,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,097 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

More Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets and reiterated bullish ratings — Evercore ISI bumped its price target to $1,050 and kept an “outperform” call, and JPMorgan raised its target to $1,050 with an “overweight” rating; these lifts imply upside vs. the current price and may underpin investor interest. Evercore ISI price target raise The Fly
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: RFG Advisory increased its stake in COST (small position increase disclosed), which signals continued fund-level confidence in the business. RFG Advisory buys Costco shares
• Positive Sentiment: Local development pipeline: city approvals moving forward for a new Costco at Seminole Towne Center, which supports long-term footprint expansion and sales growth. Sanford moves forward with Costco development
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend speculation: commentary on the possibility of another large special dividend can buoy investor demand (special dividends historically lift sentiment). Will Costco treat investors to another special dividend?
• Neutral Sentiment: Interest and coverage pieces (Zacks, Yahoo, Motley Fool) highlight Costco as a trending name and discuss January sales strength and upcoming Q2 results — these drive attention but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Zacks trending stock piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in the feed is effectively zero/invalid and provides no meaningful bearish pressure (no actionable signal).
• Negative Sentiment: Consumer issues: reports that some gift cards sold at Costco are now worthless could hurt member trust and generate negative headlines. Some gift cards sold at Costco are now worthless
• Negative Sentiment: Recall and safety warnings: a nationwide recall update with warnings of “severe” reactions raises potential liability and PR risk; such stories can pressure the stock near-term until resolved. Costco recall update

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, December 29th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $947.00 to $917.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,155.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,009.00.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.