American Trust Cuts Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

American Trust lessened its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 16.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,670 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,151 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.5% of American Trust’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. American Trust’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,650,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total transaction of $847,343.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained generally constructive, with multiple firms reiterating Buy/Overweight views and price targets around or above current levels, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside for Costco despite the recent pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.47 per share, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile. Costco stock overview and dividend note
• Positive Sentiment: Management also expanded its digital wallet feature, which could improve checkout speed and customer convenience. Costco makes payment change that could speed up checkout for members
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, with reported short interest at zero shares, offering little signal for near-term trading.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are focusing on a slowdown in June sales momentum and weaker adjusted comparable-sales growth, which raises concern that Costco may be losing some near-term growth speed. Reuters article reference
• Negative Sentiment: Competition is intensifying as Walmart and Kroger cut prices, increasing pressure on Costco’s value proposition and margin outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: New headlines about a class-action lawsuit alleging Costco sold protein powder with heavy metals add legal and reputational risk. Consumers sue Costco over heavy metals in protein powder

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group boosted their target price on 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. Weiss Ratings lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,185.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 target price for the company. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,061.10.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $916.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,099,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,488,933. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,096.50. The company has a market capitalization of $406.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.09, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $983.66 and a 200 day moving average of $975.25. 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 issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio 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.