Cullinan Associates Inc. Has $10.01 Million Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Cullinan Associates Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 26.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,048 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 3,669 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth approximately $2,781,000. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 20,081 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $15,835,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 140,429 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $121,098,000 after buying an additional 27,625 shares during the last quarter. Curtis Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Finally, Perryman Financial Advisory Inc. AD bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $9,300,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Roth Capital upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $769.00 to $781.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,104.00 to $1,106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,110.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,061.10.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $3.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $916.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,099,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,488,933. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $983.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $975.25. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,096.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a market cap of $406.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 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 analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.28 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be given a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 currently 29.58%.

Costco Wholesale News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained generally constructive, with multiple firms reiterating Buy/Overweight views and price targets around or above current levels, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside for Costco despite the recent pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.47 per share, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile. Costco stock overview and dividend note
• Positive Sentiment: Management also expanded its digital wallet feature, which could improve checkout speed and customer convenience. Costco makes payment change that could speed up checkout for members
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, with reported short interest at zero shares, offering little signal for near-term trading.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are focusing on a slowdown in June sales momentum and weaker adjusted comparable-sales growth, which raises concern that Costco may be losing some near-term growth speed. Reuters article reference
• Negative Sentiment: Competition is intensifying as Walmart and Kroger cut prices, increasing pressure on Costco’s value proposition and margin outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: New headlines about a class-action lawsuit alleging Costco sold protein powder with heavy metals add legal and reputational risk. Consumers sue Costco over heavy metals in protein powder

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total transaction of $847,343.25. Following the sale, the director owned 4,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.