Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,160 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 939 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $22,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Key Headlines 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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 4,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,575,653.55. The trade was 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 available through this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,185.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,125.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Twenty-two equities research 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,061.10.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ COST traded up $3.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $916.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,099,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,488,933. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $983.66 and a 200 day moving average of $975.25. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,096.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $70.53 billion for 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. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Costco Wholesale Company 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.