DAVENPORT & Co LLC Trims Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

DAVENPORT & Co LLC decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,862 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,423 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $109,476,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,692,035,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,364,888,000 after acquiring an additional 1,377,328 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $980,857,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070,005 shares during the period. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,697,000 after purchasing an additional 986,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,248,384,000 after purchasing an additional 383,887 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8%

COST stock opened at $973.82 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,067.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $985.35 and its 200 day moving average is $938.64. The firm has a market cap of $432.04 billion, a PE ratio of 50.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.01.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.03. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The business had revenue of $69.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 20th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,050.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,039.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total value of $838,321.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,169,907.28. The trade was a 16.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 7,645 shares of company stock worth $7,049,302 in the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s stock snapped a six-session losing streak, a technical turnaround that often attracts short‑term buying. Costco shares snap six-session losing streak
• Positive Sentiment: The Street highlights a secular tailwind as more Americans cut back on dining out, which benefits at‑home bulk grocery and membership retailers like Costco. That supports higher traffic and basket sizes. Costco sees big opportunity as Americans ditch restaurants
• Positive Sentiment: Costco launched a rival energy drink (reportedly impacting Celsius), signaling product expansion and private‑label premiumization that can boost margins and membership value. Celsius stock tumbles as Costco launches rival energy drink
• Positive Sentiment: Costco is expanding member services into fertility care and rolling out in‑store experiential events (outdoor cooking roadshow), diversifying revenue beyond bulk merchandise and strengthening membership stickiness. Costco Expands Member Offerings With Fertility Care And In Store Events
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst pieces (Zacks) reiterate a long‑term growth thesis driven by strong comparable sales, traffic and ticket growth—supporting investor confidence in earnings durability. Costco’s Comparable Sales Stay Strong: Is Traffic Driving Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple short‑interest reports show a “large increase” but list 0 shares / NaN changes and 0.0 days to cover — this appears to be a data glitch rather than meaningful shorting activity; investors should treat these entries as noise until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: InsiderMonkey included Costco on a list of “most overvalued companies,” a headline that can feed headline‑driven selling or cautious positioning given COST’s premium valuation metrics. 5 Most Overvalued Companies According to the Media

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.