CX Institutional Reduces Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

CX Institutional decreased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,886 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,036 shares during the quarter. CX Institutional’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $6,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 20,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,835,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 140,429 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $121,098,000 after buying an additional 27,625 shares during the period. Curtis Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. Curtis Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,535 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,911,000 after buying an additional 1,641 shares during the last quarter. Perryman Financial Advisory Inc. AD purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $9,300,000. Finally, Oak Ridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 22,117 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $19,072,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco is expanding its store footprint with construction underway for a new location near Kuna and Meridian, Idaho. The opening could support future sales, membership growth and regional convenience. Costco construction underway near Kuna border
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s low gasoline prices are designed to attract shoppers and increase warehouse visits. Although fuel itself generates limited profit, the strategy can indirectly lift merchandise sales, memberships and overall customer retention. Costco keeps its gas super cheap for a very specific reason
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted a 92.2% U.S.-Canada renewal rate, growth in Executive memberships and improving digital retention. These trends reinforce Costco’s recurring-revenue model and suggest customer loyalty remains strong despite changes in membership mix. Costco’s Renewal Trends Point to Lasting Customer Loyalty
• Positive Sentiment: Reported changes aimed at resolving members’ biggest pain points could help Costco protect membership sales and retention, which are central to its profitability. Costco’s changes fix members’ biggest problems
• Neutral Sentiment: Positive attention around a frozen food item highlights Costco’s ability to generate value-oriented consumer engagement, but the product buzz is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. One of Costco’s best frozen items
• Negative Sentiment: Costco reportedly agreed to a $14 million settlement involving allegedly misleading “fake urgency” emails. The financial impact appears manageable for a company of Costco’s size, but the matter creates legal, compliance and reputational concerns. Costco’s $14M settlement over fake urgency emails

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,110.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,125.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 29th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,059.07.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $947.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $420.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 0.87. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,096.50. The business has a fifty day moving average of $952.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $982.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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 return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.During the same period last year, the company earned $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total transaction of $847,343.25. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.