Brown Advisory Inc. Sells 105,795 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Brown Advisory Inc. lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 21.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 390,072 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 105,795 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 0.09% of Costco Wholesale worth $336,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $2,781,000. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 20,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,835,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 140,429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $121,098,000 after purchasing an additional 27,625 shares during the last quarter. Curtis Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 56.7% in the fourth quarter. Curtis Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,911,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 399,894 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $370,140,000 after buying an additional 5,937 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, June 1st. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $769.00 to $781.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,185.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,060.41.

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 has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,005.34 and its 200 day moving average is $966.74. The company has a market cap of $435.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.41, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

Costco Wholesale 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.