Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $853.39 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 140.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 989,626 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 577,537 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned about 0.22% of Costco Wholesale worth $853,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,195,415,000. Cardano Risk Management B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 907.1% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 1,785,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,539,346,000 after buying an additional 1,607,833 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $980,857,000 after buying an additional 1,070,005 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew 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 valued at $2,893,697,000 after buying an additional 986,182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vestor Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20,936.6% during the fourth quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 970,840 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $837,194,000 after buying an additional 966,225 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.7%

COST opened at $982.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $1,005.34 and its 200 day moving average is $966.74. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,096.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.41, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 29.58%.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,185.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $769.00 to $781.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average 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.