Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Stock Price Down 2% – What’s Next?

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) traded down 2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $992.42 and last traded at $995.75. 2,474,975 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 18% from the average session volume of 2,102,122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1,016.42.

More Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: April net sales jumped 13.0% year-over-year to $23.92 billion for the four weeks ended May 3, signaling continued top-line momentum and SKU sell-through strength. Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports April Sales Results
• Positive Sentiment: Higher U.S. gasoline prices could boost traffic to Costco fuel centers and lift fuel-margin contributions, a potential tailwind for membership and ancillary sales. Costco Stock (COST) in Focus as U.S. Gasoline Prices Near Record High
• Positive Sentiment: Foot-traffic trends show Costco stores getting busier over several years, supporting membership renewals and higher basket sizes versus peers. Strong traffic persistence is a structural advantage. It’s not in your head: Costco has gotten more crowded
• Positive Sentiment: Local expansion: construction is starting on a Milwaukee County store and a new Camarillo gas station opened ahead of warehouse construction — signs of continued real-estate growth and capacity to add revenue. Construction starts soon on Costco’s first Milwaukee County store after land deal Costco opens Camarillo gas station ahead of warehouse construction
• Neutral Sentiment: Feature and merchandise coverage (new groceries, product launches, and grocery lists) supports customer engagement but is unlikely to move shares materially in the short term. The Best New Costco Groceries Hitting Shelves This Month
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons among big-box peers (Walmart, Target) keep Costco in investor screens; these pieces help sentiment framing but don’t by themselves drive immediate moves. Which Big-Box Store Chain Has Dominated 2026: Walmart, Target, or Costco?
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: coverage noting the stock has slid and reporting the intraday decline likely feeds short‑term selling and stops. That commentary amplifies volatility even when company fundamentals are steady. Costco (COST) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: commentary warns the stock is richly valued after strong YTD gains, which can make investors hesitant to add new positions and pressure the share price on any macro softening. Costco (COST) Is Hard Not to Love. Buying It Right Now Is Harder
• Negative Sentiment: Broader retail headwinds: Moody’s and other analysts flag an unfavorable retail backdrop (higher prices, weaker discretionary demand); even market leaders can see multiple compression in such environments. Walmart, Costco poised to win amid unfavorable retail environment

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,171.00 to $1,088.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. UBS Group set a $1,175.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “sell” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,045.97.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 2.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $441.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.99 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $997.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $950.47.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.03. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The company had revenue of $69.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.02 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.32 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 30.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total transaction of $732,204.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,139,485.42. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of COST. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $672,690,000 after buying an additional 6,720,130 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at about $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,282,182,000 after buying an additional 5,472,968 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 907.1% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 1,785,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,539,346,000 after buying an additional 1,607,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $980,857,000 after buying an additional 1,070,005 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.