Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,275 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,331 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $96,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the first quarter valued at about $211,000. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Relyea Zuckerberg Hanson LLC now owns 2,411 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,402,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. AlpenGlobal Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 1st quarter valued at about $7,643,000. KLCM Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. KLCM Advisors Inc. now owns 1,690 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,684,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 392 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total transaction of $847,343.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at $4,575,653.55. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Truist Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 target price for the company. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, June 1st. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,061.10.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $3.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $916.25. The stock had a trading volume of 2,099,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,488,933. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1 year low of $844.06 and a 1 year 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’s 50 day moving average is $983.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $975.25. The stock has a market cap of $406.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.58%.

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

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

Costco Wholesale 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.