ING Groep NV Lowers Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

ING Groep NV decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 33.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 93,564 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 46,148 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $86,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 13,616 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,479,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 49.3% in the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,780 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the period. Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $874,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the second quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 15,799 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $15,640,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd 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 owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In related 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 owned 10,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,320,773.08. The trade was a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total value of $437,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,148,060. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $971.23 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $917.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $931.14. The company has a market cap of $431.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.02, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.04. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.04 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,218.00 to $1,171.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,009.00.

Costco Wholesale News Summary

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

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.