Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 1.9% – Here’s Why

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) shares traded up 1.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $989.64 and last traded at $982.86. 4,020,331 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 3,103,353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $964.26.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Warehouse expansion and faster new-store ramp-ups support long-term sales and membership growth, giving a clear growth runway that investors reward. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Costco is adopting a tech upgrade used by competitors to improve the member experience — a move that can boost traffic, basket size and retention if rollout is smooth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent performance shows Costco outpacing the market, reflecting resilient December sales and membership trends that underwrite recurring revenue. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Card and membership perks were improved (higher gas rewards), which can increase loyalty and in-warehouse spending among cardholders. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis questions whether Costco’s premium P/E is justified given steady but moderate growth — useful context for entry/position sizing decisions. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor guides and commentary (e.g., what Costco needs to prove in 2026) emphasize strong fundamentals but note high expectations; these pieces tend to temper near-term upside forecasts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale was disclosed (Director Susan Decker sold 458 shares), a small but visible transaction that some investors interpret as a mild negative signal on timing/valuation. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Increased expansion by large grocery rivals raises the risk of localized share pressure and margin competition over time. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on COST. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,025.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,044.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,025.00 to $1,027.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $996.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.9%

The firm has a market cap of $436.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $896.67 and its 200-day moving average is $929.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total value of $1,408,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,101,943. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,550,476.80. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,404 shares of company stock worth $11,395,418. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after buying an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,325,416 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,141,062,000 after acquiring an additional 90,107 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,275,056 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $10,124,263,000 after acquiring an additional 150,844 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth $5,692,035,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,248,384,000 after purchasing an additional 383,887 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% 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.