Ghe LLC Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Ghe LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 121.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,601 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 7,468 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.9% of Ghe LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Ghe LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $13,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 750.0% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 34 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company 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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,110.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,125.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 29th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,175.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,185.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,061.10.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST opened at $916.25 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,096.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $406.34 billion, a PE ratio of 46.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $983.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $976.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.61.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.The business 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 firm earned $4.28 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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