Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 1% Higher – Still a Buy?

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) traded up 1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $929.85 and last traded at $924.88. 2,890,843 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 3,111,923 shares. The stock had previously closed at $915.31.

Costco Wholesale News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company-released December sales: net sales of $29.86B (up 8.5% yr/yr) and companywide comps +7.0%, with digitally-enabled sales up ~19%. This is the primary driver for the bullish move. Costco Reports December Sales Results
• Positive Sentiment: E-commerce acceleration: online/digitally-enabled sales jumped ~18–19% in December, boosting margins and omnichannel momentum that investors favor. Costco Stock Jumps as Online Sales Growth Reaches 18% in December
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and upgrades (Mizuho, Deutsche Bank mentions, Telsey reaffirming outperform) are lifting sentiment and providing upside to price targets. Costco Upgraded at Mizuho
• Positive Sentiment: Political/tariff developments: betting markets and reports increasingly price in relief from new tariffs — a potential tailwind for Costco’s import-heavy model. Betting Markets Predict 75% Chance Supreme Court Blocks Trump Tariffs
• Neutral Sentiment: Local expansion: city-level site news (Greenbrier Mall) signals ongoing real-estate pipeline but is not material yet to national results. Costco Could Be Coming to Greenbrier Mall
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary: portfolio managers and media guests (Wall Street Alliance video backing Costco) highlight execution focus — supportive but not a direct earnings catalyst. Aadil Zaman Backs Costco
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: outlets warn Costco trades near elevated multiples after years of outperformance, suggesting limited upside if growth slows — a short-term headwind for multiples. How Retailer Costco Can Drop
• Negative Sentiment: Media critique: high-profile commentator Jim Cramer said COST “should be repudiated this quarter,” which can amplify short-term selling despite longer-term bullish data. Jim Cramer: Costco Should be Repudiated

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, December 29th. Northcoast Research set a $1,100.00 price target on Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Mizuho set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $996.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $892.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $932.51. The firm has a market cap of $410.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.02. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.04 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.85%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total value of $1,776,913.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,320,773.08. This trade represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 8,946 shares of company stock worth $8,175,048. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.