First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 114.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 11,216 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,989 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $10,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sarasin & Partners LLP now owns 214,194 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $200,372,000 after acquiring an additional 13,795 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 158,416 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $148,193,000 after buying an additional 6,200 shares during the last quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hyperion Asset Management Ltd now owns 68,762 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $64,325,000 after buying an additional 5,656 shares during the last quarter. Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth $16,013,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 15.0% during the 2nd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 22,766 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,297,000 after acquiring an additional 2,974 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of Costco Wholesale 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 owned 7,134 shares in the company, valued at $6,534,244.62. The trade was a 23.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.
Key Costco Wholesale News
- Positive Sentiment: Costco reported September net sales of $30.02 billion for the five-week period ended October 4, up 13% year over year. Digitally enabled sales increased 19%, suggesting strong member engagement and continued momentum in e-commerce and delivery. September sales and digital growth article
- Positive Sentiment: The membership model continues to attract younger shoppers, while Costco’s value-focused pricing is helping it compete for consumers seeking savings. This supports recurring membership revenue and long-term traffic growth. Costco gaining younger members article
- Positive Sentiment: Costco received early approval from a Florida city council for a new warehouse, supporting the company’s expansion strategy and future membership capacity. A proposed West Oakland location could also create hundreds of jobs. Florida Costco store approval article
- Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group modestly raised their FY2027 EPS forecast to $22.80 and project $25.01 for FY2028, above the current-year consensus of $22.85, indicating expectations for continued earnings growth.
- Positive Sentiment: Costco’s approximately $21.3 billion liquidity cushion, manageable debt and strong cash flow provide financial flexibility for warehouse openings, technology investments and shareholder returns. Costco balance sheet article
- Neutral Sentiment: Some September sales growth benefited from elevated gasoline prices, which increase reported fuel revenue. If gas prices decline, the headline growth rate could moderate even if underlying merchandise demand remains healthy. Cheaper gas impact article
- Negative Sentiment: At roughly 46 times earnings, COST trades at a substantial premium to the broader market. The 10-year Treasury yield near 5.2% also offers materially higher income than Costco’s dividend, increasing the risk that investors view the stock as expensive despite strong fundamentals.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
COST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,160.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Friday, September 25th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $950.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,046.27.
View Our Latest Analysis on Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.5%
NASDAQ COST opened at $954.63 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $930.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $963.12. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,096.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $423.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.98, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.88.
Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last released 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $5.87 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.
About Costco Wholesale
Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells a broad selection of merchandise, including groceries, fresh foods, beverages, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal products. It also offers services such as gasoline, pharmacies, optical departments, hearing-aid centers, food courts, travel services, and business delivery in selected markets.
Costco markets many products under its private-label Kirkland Signature brand and sells merchandise through warehouse locations and e-commerce platforms.
Featured Articles
- Five stocks we like better than Costco Wholesale
- A Chinese Rival Just Spooked Memory Stocks—How Worried Should Micron Investors Be?
- Could T-Mobile’s Satellite Competition Fears Create a Buying Opportunity?
- Surgical Precision, Sustainable Returns: Johnson & Johnson Secures Its Cash Flow Runway
- Tesla’s Robotaxi Lands in Paris—But Europe’s Real Fight Is Over Cheap EVs
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Costco Wholesale Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Costco Wholesale and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
