Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $38.10 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI decreased its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,237 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,017 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $38,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gunpowder Capital Management LLC dba Oliver Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 750.0% in the 1st quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 34 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting 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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total transaction of $847,343.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This 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 accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,175.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,061.10.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ COST traded up $3.28 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $916.25. 2,099,105 shares of the company were exchanged, 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $983.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $975.25. 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 has a market capitalization of $406.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 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 for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. The company had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

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.