Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stock Holdings Lifted by Rakuten Investment Management Inc.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 118,071 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,180 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $109,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,359,224,000 after buying an additional 5,749,362 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,488,203,000 after acquiring an additional 773,651 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,068,312 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,870,314,000 after acquiring an additional 160,893 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,839,016 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,828,881,000 after acquiring an additional 283,360 shares during the period. Finally, Ascentis Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 103,637.0% in the second quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,500,062 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,549,616,000 after acquiring an additional 2,497,652 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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: Costco’s DoorDash and Uber Eats expansion could add sales, reach younger shoppers and support digital growth without reducing warehouse traffic. Read article
• Positive Sentiment: Costco received approval for a new store at Seacoast Landing in Newington, New Hampshire, with a 2027 opening targeted—supporting longer-term expansion. Read article
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary presents Costco as a durable blue-chip investment and highlights its ability to introduce appealing products, including a coffee offering tied to an emerging trend. These are supportive long-term views, not new financial guidance. Read article Read article
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles discuss whether Costco could split its shares in 2027 because the price is above $1,000. A split could improve share accessibility but would not change the company’s underlying value, and no split has been announced. Read article
• Negative Sentiment: ETFs were reported as net sellers of about $75.6 million in COST shares on Oct. 29, which may have contributed to selling pressure; this is backward-looking and does not establish the cause of the latest decline. Read article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,065.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,086.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total value of $2,015,046.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 7,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,244.62. This represents a 23.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $958.21, for a total transaction of $1,054,031.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,094 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,701.74. This represents a 26.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of COST opened at $1,019.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $451.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.85. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,096.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $946.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $971.09.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.87 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.32%.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells merchandise in bulk and at competitive prices through warehouse clubs and e-commerce platforms, serving individual consumers, businesses and other organizations.

Its product selection includes groceries and fresh foods, household supplies, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, health and beauty products, jewelry, automotive products and prescription drugs. Costco also provides services such as optical care, pharmacy services, hearing-aid sales, travel offerings and fuel sales, depending on location.

The company traces its roots to Price Club, which opened in San Diego in 1976.