New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 362,387 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 2,149 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.7% of New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.08% of Costco Wholesale worth $335,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the second quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,206 shares during the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 975.0% during the second quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frazier Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about 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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,170.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $990.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,033.00 to $926.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Mizuho set a $1,000.00 target price on Costco Wholesale and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Northcoast Research set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $996.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of COST opened at $924.88 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,078.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $892.58 and a 200 day moving average of $931.47. The firm has a market cap of $410.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.04.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total value of $2,526,336.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total value of $1,157,994.18. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,155 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,966.10. This trade represents a 19.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 8,946 shares of company stock valued at $8,175,048 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.