Caprock Group LLC Purchases New Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 15,784 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $14,889,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,692,035,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,364,888,000 after buying an additional 1,377,328 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,920,107,000 after acquiring an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,248,384,000 after acquiring an additional 383,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 15,055.5% in the 2nd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 320,994 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $317,722,000 after purchasing an additional 318,876 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.32, for a total transaction of $1,374,480.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total transaction of $437,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,532 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,148,060. This trade represents a 5.09% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on COST. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,025.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, February 2nd. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,009.00.

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets and reiterated bullish ratings — Evercore ISI bumped its price target to $1,050 and kept an “outperform” call, and JPMorgan raised its target to $1,050 with an “overweight” rating; these lifts imply upside vs. the current price and may underpin investor interest. Evercore ISI price target raise The Fly
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying: RFG Advisory increased its stake in COST (small position increase disclosed), which signals continued fund-level confidence in the business. RFG Advisory buys Costco shares
• Positive Sentiment: Local development pipeline: city approvals moving forward for a new Costco at Seminole Towne Center, which supports long-term footprint expansion and sales growth. Sanford moves forward with Costco development
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend speculation: commentary on the possibility of another large special dividend can buoy investor demand (special dividends historically lift sentiment). Will Costco treat investors to another special dividend?
• Neutral Sentiment: Interest and coverage pieces (Zacks, Yahoo, Motley Fool) highlight Costco as a trending name and discuss January sales strength and upcoming Q2 results — these drive attention but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Zacks trending stock piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data in the feed is effectively zero/invalid and provides no meaningful bearish pressure (no actionable signal).
• Negative Sentiment: Consumer issues: reports that some gift cards sold at Costco are now worthless could hurt member trust and generate negative headlines. Some gift cards sold at Costco are now worthless
• Negative Sentiment: Recall and safety warnings: a nationwide recall update with warnings of “severe” reactions raises potential liability and PR risk; such stories can pressure the stock near-term until resolved. Costco recall update

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.6%

Shares of COST opened at $971.23 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $917.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $931.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.01. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced 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 company had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.04 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 currently 27.85%.

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.