Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 7.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,383 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,836 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $23,495,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth approximately $5,692,035,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $1,364,888,000 after buying an additional 1,377,328 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second 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 period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15,055.5% in the 2nd quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 320,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $317,722,000 after acquiring an additional 318,876 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: Upcoming Q2 earnings after the close on March 5 — analysts expect another beat and technical indicators are bullish, making the report the main near-term catalyst for the stock. Should You Buy Costco Stock (COST) ahead of Q2 Earnings?
• Positive Sentiment: Preview commentary and data point to another strong quarter (monthly sales and membership trends), and analysts note a chance Costco can highlight favorable effects from the recent tariff ruling. Costco Q2 Preview: Will Retailer Celebrate Tariff Ruling?
• Positive Sentiment: Positive media and analyst attention (predictions of a post-earnings surge, momentum stories) are keeping investor interest and buying interest elevated ahead of the print. Prediction: Costco Will Surge After March 5th
• Positive Sentiment: Ongoing expansion: multiple new-store openings and large real-estate deals (e.g., Viva White Oak) support long-term growth and membership roll-ups. Costco signs on for Viva White Oak project in Montgomery County
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: coverage questions whether COST has “run too far” after strong YTD gains — this raises profit-taking risk even if fundamentals remain healthy. Has Costco Wholesale (COST) Run Too Far?
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst deep-dives and metric-level previews (Zacks, MarketBeat) are setting expectations for comps, traffic and membership metrics — useful for trading around the print but not directional until results land. Curious about Costco (COST) Q2 Performance?
• Negative Sentiment: Customer/PR noise and policy confusion (return policy coverage) could create short-term reputation headwinds and modest consumer pushback. Costco members confused over return policy rule
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data posted in some feeds is inconsistent/zeroed and is not a reliable current signal for days-to-cover or directional pressure. (Ignore noisy short-interest entries until cleaner data is released.)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,033.00 to $926.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,016.18.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Javier Polit sold 558 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $862.89, for a total transaction of $481,492.62. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,792,849.10. This trade represents a 5.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $916.32, for a total value of $1,374,480.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,240 shares in the company, valued at $7,550,476.80. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $1,006.74 on Thursday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,067.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.86 billion, a PE ratio of 53.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $956.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $935.59.

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

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.85%.

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.