Cresset Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Cresset Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,089 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 703 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $39,885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of COST. Griffith & Werner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $364,000. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4,641.7% in the third quarter. Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. now owns 11,475 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $10,622,000 after purchasing an additional 11,233 shares during the last quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the third quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 3,444 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,188,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 5.5% during the third quarter. USAdvisors Wealth Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,854,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Upcoming Q2 earnings on March 5 are the main near-term catalyst; consensus models and COST’s history of earnings surprises are raising expectations for another beat. Can Costco Keep the Earnings Surprise Streak Alive?
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish research pieces (growth, momentum, broker commentary) are supporting demand for the stock and framing COST as a growth/momentum name for 2026. 3 Reasons Why Growth Investors Shouldn’t Overlook Costco
• Positive Sentiment: Operational/competitive momentum: new pilot program attracting Sam’s Club customers and a favorable credit‑card change that widens Costco’s consumer edge—both reinforce share gains via market-share and membership strength. A New Costco Pilot Program Is Poaching Sam’s Club Customers Costco credit card change gives it a $1,000 edge on Sam’s Club
• Positive Sentiment: Store growth and real‑estate wins (new openings, anchor deals like Viva White Oak / Montgomery County) support long‑term sales footprint expansion. Costco signs on for Viva White Oak project in Montgomery County
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest reports in the last 48 hours appear noisy/malformed (showing zero shares), implying no clear short‑pressure signal for today’s move.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market volatility from geopolitical events could pressure risk assets and temper upside, but these are market‑wide drivers rather than Costco‑specific. Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures plunge
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: some analysts argue COST is richly valued (high P/E vs. retail peers) and suggest trimming positions near the $1,000 level—this keeps profit‑taking risk elevated around the earnings date. Sell Costco Stock At $1,000?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,155.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, February 9th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, December 12th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $947.00 to $917.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,016.18.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $1,007.77 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,067.08. The stock has a market cap of $447.32 billion, a PE ratio of 53.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $954.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $935.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

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

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total transaction of $437,390.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,532 shares in the company, valued at $8,148,060. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Russell D. Miller sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $916.32, for a total transaction of $1,374,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,550,476.80. The trade was a 15.40% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.