Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Carnegie Investment Counsel

Carnegie Investment Counsel reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,842 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 752 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $35,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after acquiring an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,814,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,110 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 8,502 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,416,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

COST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,104.00 to $1,106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,061.10.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock traded up $3.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $916.25. 2,099,105 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,488,933. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $983.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.58%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.