Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1,156.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,066 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,822 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.9% of Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at about $5,692,035,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,364,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,377,328 shares during the period. Amundi grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 45.0% in the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,893,697,000 after purchasing an additional 986,182 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,248,384,000 after purchasing an additional 383,887 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 112.2% during the 3rd quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 477,425 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $441,919,000 after purchasing an additional 252,453 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

More Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco is keeping fuel prices low with a deliberate pricing strategy to stay cheaper than competitors, which can drive continued traffic and membership value. As Gas Prices Soar, Costco’s Using This Smart Strategy To Stay Cheaper Than Most
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive: consensus ratings across brokerages show a majority buy/moderate-buy stance, supporting investor confidence. Costco Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Costco upgraded its retail-media platform, a potential new ad-revenue stream that can boost margins over time. Costco upgrades its retail media platform
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish write-ups (seeking-alpha coverage and long-term valuation defenses) are reinforcing the narrative that Costco’s membership model and pricing power can sustain outperformance. Costco: A Likely Outperformer Based On The Business Model
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Ron Vachris addressed questions about the $1.50 hot dog combo, offering clarity to a vocal part of Costco’s brand/PR — removes a potential source of uncertainty but has limited direct earnings impact. Costco CEO gives update on future of $1.50 hot dog and soda combo
• Neutral Sentiment: Costco added new Kirkland Signature items (and launched a private-label refrigerated dog food), moves that can deepen margins and member loyalty but may take time to scale. Costco adds Kirkland Signature items
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage and investor-interest pieces (Zacks, Yahoo, TipRanks) are drawing attention to COST, which can amplify trading activity but not necessarily change fundamentals. Costco is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk: COST trades at a premium (P/E around 50x), leaving limited room for error if same-store sales or margin expansion disappoint — this makes the stock sensitive to any weaker-than-expected data.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 6,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,139,485.42. The trade was a 10.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total transaction of $1,408,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 44,837 shares in the company, valued at $42,101,943. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,645 shares of company stock valued at $7,049,302. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Daiwa Securities Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Mizuho raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,115.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,039.13.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.3%

COST stock opened at $972.33 on Monday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,067.08. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $984.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $938.49. 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 $431.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.03. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 2.99%.The company had revenue of $69.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 27.04%.

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.