Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Shares Up 3.2% – Still a Buy?

Posted by Brian Himes on Jul 18th, 2026

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) rose 3.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $945.76 and last traded at $945.57. 2,436,471 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 8% from the average daily volume of 2,258,248 shares. The stock had previously closed at $916.54.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 EPS estimate for Costco to $20.52 from $20.49, slightly above the Street consensus of $20.38, suggesting analysts still see modest earnings upside. Earnings forecast boost article
Positive Sentiment: Costco remains a favorite dividend name, with its next ex-dividend date set for July 24, which may attract income-focused investors ahead of the payout. Dividend article
Neutral Sentiment: A profile of a longtime Costco cashier who became a millionaire highlights the company’s employee retention and compensation culture, but it is unlikely to materially affect near-term fundamentals. Employee profile article
Neutral Sentiment: Several local news items about new warehouses, gas stations, and remodels point to ongoing store expansion and reinvestment, but they are not major stock-moving catalysts by themselves.
Negative Sentiment: MarketBeat said Costco’s June sales showed cooling comparable sales and weak international results, keeping the stock in “neutral” territory despite its premium valuation. Cooling comp sales article
Negative Sentiment: Additional commentary from Zacks and Yahoo Finance argued Costco shares still look expensive after a strong multi-year run, reinforcing valuation concerns that can weigh on the stock. Valuation debate article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. UBS Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Roth Capital boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $769.00 to $781.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,125.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,104.00 to $1,106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,059.07.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on COST

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $417.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $975.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $977.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total transaction of $847,343.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $672,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720,130 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472,968 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 907.1% during the 4th quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 1,785,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,539,346,000 after purchasing an additional 1,607,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,137,436 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $980,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070,005 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.