UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Sells 677 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,673 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 677 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 0.8% of UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $16,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.6% in the second quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 3,629 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,395,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Conway Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Conway Capital Management Inc. now owns 21,822 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $20,413,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Argyle Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter. Argyle Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,025 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Focused Alpha LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Focused Alpha LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,713,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 3,343 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,127,000 after purchasing an additional 13 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Delivery expansion could boost engagement: Costco is now offering delivery for customizable sheet cakes and party platters, improving convenience and potentially encouraging larger, higher-margin event-related purchases. Costco delivery for cakes and party platters
• Positive Sentiment: Physical expansion continues: Costco opened its first warehouse in Celina, Texas, one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities. New locations can add membership revenue and sales over time, although the financial contribution will develop gradually. Costco opens Celina store
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term investor appeal remains intact: Commentary highlights Costco’s strong competitive moat, membership economics and potential for dividend growth. Its partnership with SCAN Health Plan to offer Medicare Advantage and supplemental plans also provides a potential new customer-engagement channel. Costco Medicare partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: Pricing strategy is both a strength and a challenge: Costco continues to hold its iconic rotisserie chicken at $4.99 by controlling production costs. The price reinforces customer loyalty, but inflation and supply costs could pressure margins if the company maintains the price indefinitely. Costco rotisserie chicken and inflation
• Negative Sentiment: Legal and valuation concerns are weighing on sentiment: Costco is refunding certain tariff duties while contesting a related class-action lawsuit, creating uncertainty over costs and potential liabilities. Separately, the stock’s high earnings multiple and position below its 200-day moving average leave it vulnerable to profit-taking; its latest quarterly EPS narrowly missed estimates despite a revenue beat. Costco tariff refunds and lawsuit

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at $4,575,653.55. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,125.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, June 1st. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,110.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,059.53.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $945.47 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $945.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $979.92. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,096.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $419.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.50 and a beta of 0.87. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. The company 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 business posted $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. 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.