Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Up 1.1% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) traded up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $990.01 and last traded at $972.5860. 2,321,941 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the average session volume of 2,172,109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $961.83.

More Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco reported May net sales of $24.01 billion, up 14.5% year over year, extending its strong sales momentum and reinforcing investor confidence in traffic, memberships, and digital demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several analysts reiterated bullish views, including UBS (Buy, $1,275 target), TD Cowen (Buy, $1,175 target), and William Blair (Buy), suggesting Wall Street still sees upside despite the premium valuation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted Costco’s strong U.S. comparable sales, traffic growth, fuel-driven demand, and reaccelerating e-commerce, all of which support the company’s defensive growth story. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage also pointed to Costco’s e-commerce momentum and strong membership model as reasons the long-term trend remains intact. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed a neutral rating with a $1,000 target, implying modest upside but also signaling that the stock’s valuation remains a key debate. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles on Costco’s dividend appeal and overall retail leadership were supportive, but they did not introduce a major new catalyst for the shares. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: A report that Costco may refund tariff-related costs to customers raised concern that the company could absorb added expense or face margin pressure, helping explain some of the recent weakness. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Several pieces also stressed that Costco’s valuation is still rich after the earnings beat, which may limit near-term upside if growth cools even slightly. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $431.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,006.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $963.58.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.72% and a net margin of 3.01%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company 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 year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total transaction of $732,204.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,121 shares in the company, valued at $6,139,485.42. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,620,717 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $37,615,889,000 after buying an additional 165,349 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,919,573,000 after buying an additional 26,690 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,523,423 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,212,433,000 after buying an additional 107,775 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,488,203,000 after buying an additional 773,651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.