AlpenGlobal Capital LLC Takes $7.64 Million Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

AlpenGlobal Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,670 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,643,000. Costco Wholesale comprises about 5.0% of AlpenGlobal Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $672,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720,130 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472,968 shares during the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 907.1% in the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 1,785,080 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,539,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $980,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,005 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $1,125.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 price target for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,061.10.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $916.25 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,096.50. The company has a market cap of $406.34 billion, a PE ratio of 46.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $983.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $975.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.58%.

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other 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 transaction of $847,343.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

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.