Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Grows Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 247,238 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 30,209 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $213,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hurley Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore set a $1,100.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Daiwa Securities Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,175.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $982.35 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,096.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $1,005.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $967.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $435.65 billion, a PE ratio of 49.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.The company had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $1.47 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.58%.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lifted its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings forecasts for Costco, signaling expectations for stronger profitability ahead.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary in 24/7 Wall St. emphasized Costco’s membership-fee model as a resilient source of recurring revenue that can support long-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Barchart coverage noted Costco as one of the retail names rewarding shareholders with a higher dividend, reinforcing the company’s capital-return appeal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage that Costco offers shopping without a membership in limited cases is mainly informational and not likely to materially affect the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: The Iowa court decision involving a former Costco manager appears to be a legal headline with limited direct impact on the company’s overall financial outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg reported rising plastic input costs may lead to higher prices for consumer goods later this year, which could add inflation pressure to Costco’s retail environment and potentially squeeze margins or demand.

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.