Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by Sovran Advisors LLC

Sovran Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,411 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 811 shares during the quarter. Sovran Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EWA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% in the third quarter. EWA LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Intact Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. now owns 610 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.8% in the third quarter. Liberty Wealth Management LLC now owns 946 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 10,250 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $9,488,000 after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 33,508 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $30,673,000 after acquiring an additional 571 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Argus upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,033.00 to $926.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $996.00.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $983.25 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $900.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $929.44. The stock has a market cap of $436.44 billion, a PE ratio of 52.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,078.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The business’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.04 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total transaction of $1,776,913.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,320,773.08. This represents a 16.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.32, for a total value of $1,374,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,240 shares in the company, valued at $7,550,476.80. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,315 shares of company stock valued at $8,549,409. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

More Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Costco to report strong fiscal Q2 results, with previews calling for double-digit profit growth — investors view this as confirmation of resilient demand and margin stability. Earnings Preview: What to Expect From Costco Wholesale’s Report
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish analyst pieces argue Costco remains a buy for 2026 and beyond, emphasizing membership retention, steady sales/profit growth and defensive consumer-staples characteristics. This supportive coverage helps underpin the rally. Is Costco Stock a Buy in 2026?
• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s membership perks continue to be a strategic growth lever — coverage highlights a past controversial perk and four new 2026 benefits aimed at boosting member value and retention, which supports long-term revenue visibility. Costco Introduced a Controversial Perk Last Year — and It Plans to Follow This Up With 4 New Benefits in 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Operational/UX improvements: reporting says Costco is adopting a tech upgrade used by competitors to improve the member experience — a potential driver of basket size and visit frequency. Costco borrows tech upgrade from competitor to boost member experience
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail buzz and product-level popularity (popular Costco finds, wholesale flowers) are helping brand engagement but are unlikely to move fundamentals materially in the near term. ‘I’ve Been Using This Stuff Every Day For About 2 Years’
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading/technical interest: a pattern-trade roundup lists Costco as a top seasonal idea (speculative short?term upside), which can attract momentum traders but isn’t a fundamental endorsement. 5 Best Pattern Trades for This Quarter
• Negative Sentiment: Bearish/critical takes: Seeking Alpha published pieces urging caution or a sell-the-rally stance, arguing the strong start may be short?lived — these raise concerns about near-term momentum and give some investors reason to lock in gains. Costco: Strong Start To 2026 Likely Short-Lived
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation questions: coverage assessing Costco’s rich P/E highlights risk that upside is limited unless earnings justify the premium — a key watch for longer?term investors. Assessing Whether Costco Wholesale (COST) Deserves Its Rich P/E
• Negative Sentiment: Minor insider activity: a disclosed sale of 458 shares by an executive may be viewed as a small negative signal, though the sale size is immaterial relative to the company’s scale. Susan Decker Sells 458 Shares of Costco Wholesale

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.