Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,914 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $26,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,620,717 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,615,889,000 after buying an additional 165,349 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,919,573,000 after buying an additional 26,690 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,523,423 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,212,433,000 after buying an additional 107,775 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $5,195,415,000. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,937,286 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,395,301,000 after acquiring an additional 77,650 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lifted its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings forecasts for Costco, signaling expectations for stronger profitability ahead.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary in 24/7 Wall St. emphasized Costco’s membership-fee model as a resilient source of recurring revenue that can support long-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Barchart coverage noted Costco as one of the retail names rewarding shareholders with a higher dividend, reinforcing the company’s capital-return appeal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage that Costco offers shopping without a membership in limited cases is mainly informational and not likely to materially affect the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: The Iowa court decision involving a former Costco manager appears to be a legal headline with limited direct impact on the company’s overall financial outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg reported rising plastic input costs may lead to higher prices for consumer goods later this year, which could add inflation pressure to Costco’s retail environment and potentially squeeze margins or demand.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $982.35 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $1,005.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $966.74. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,096.50. The firm has a market cap of $435.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. The company had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,175.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Twenty-two 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,060.41.

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.