Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD Has $7.38 Million Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,977 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 633 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 2.5% of Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest position. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $7,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $5,692,035,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 418,980.3% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 2,359,422 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,335,686,000 after buying an additional 2,358,859 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,377,328 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after buying an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,248,384,000 after buying an additional 383,887 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Roth Capital set a $769.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,218.00 to $1,171.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Argus increased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,044.00 price target on Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $1,115.00 price target on the stock. Twenty-one equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $996.00.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company-released December sales: net sales of $29.86B (up 8.5% yr/yr) and companywide comps +7.0%, with digitally-enabled sales up ~19%. This is the primary driver for the bullish move. Costco Reports December Sales Results
• Positive Sentiment: E-commerce acceleration: online/digitally-enabled sales jumped ~18–19% in December, boosting margins and omnichannel momentum that investors favor. Costco Stock Jumps as Online Sales Growth Reaches 18% in December
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and upgrades (Mizuho, Deutsche Bank mentions, Telsey reaffirming outperform) are lifting sentiment and providing upside to price targets. Costco Upgraded at Mizuho
• Positive Sentiment: Political/tariff developments: betting markets and reports increasingly price in relief from new tariffs — a potential tailwind for Costco’s import-heavy model. Betting Markets Predict 75% Chance Supreme Court Blocks Trump Tariffs
• Neutral Sentiment: Local expansion: city-level site news (Greenbrier Mall) signals ongoing real-estate pipeline but is not material yet to national results. Costco Could Be Coming to Greenbrier Mall
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary: portfolio managers and media guests (Wall Street Alliance video backing Costco) highlight execution focus — supportive but not a direct earnings catalyst. Aadil Zaman Backs Costco
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: outlets warn Costco trades near elevated multiples after years of outperformance, suggesting limited upside if growth slows — a short-term headwind for multiples. How Retailer Costco Can Drop
• Negative Sentiment: Media critique: high-profile commentator Jim Cramer said COST “should be repudiated this quarter,” which can amplify short-term selling despite longer-term bullish data. Jim Cramer: Costco Should be Repudiated

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $924.88 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $892.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $931.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $410.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 1.02. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12-month low of $844.06 and a 12-month high of $1,078.23.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.04 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,966.10. This represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,946 shares of company stock worth $8,175,048 over the last quarter. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.