Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading Up 1% – Here’s What Happened

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)’s stock price shot up 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $929.85 and last traded at $924.88. 2,890,843 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 7% from the average session volume of 3,111,923 shares. The stock had previously closed at $915.31.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Roth Capital set a $769.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Raymond James Financial decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,070.00 to $1,000.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $900.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Twenty-one research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $996.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $892.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $932.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $410.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.54, a PEG ratio of 5.29 and a beta of 1.02.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, EVP William Richard Wilcox sold 2,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $930.13, for a total transaction of $2,232,312.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,860,260. The trade was a 54.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Tiffany Marie Barbre sold 1,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $934.62, for a total transaction of $1,157,994.18. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,946 shares of company stock valued at $8,175,048 over the last ninety days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 635.7% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the third quarter worth $34,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Costco Wholesale

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.