SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. Acquires New Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,738 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,508,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.7% during the third quarter. Brown Wealth Management LLC now owns 305 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $282,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS now owns 655 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $606,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Somerset Group LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the third quarter. Somerset Group LLC now owns 4,220 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,906,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 4.3% during the third quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC now owns 268 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank & Trust Co boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 71 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 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: Costco reported fiscal Q3 results that topped sales expectations, with revenue of $70.53 billion, same-store sales up 9.8%, and strong demand for essentials and gasoline helping drive traffic. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained upbeat after the report, with Morgan Stanley reaffirming an Overweight rating and raising its price target to $1,130, while William Blair kept a Buy rating on Costco’s resilient fundamentals and member-driven growth. Morgan Stanley rating article William Blair rating article
• Positive Sentiment: The company highlighted record-breaking fuel volume and strong digital growth, reinforcing the view that Costco is still taking share from value-conscious consumers. Zacks earnings call article
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings report was mixed on the bottom line, with EPS of $4.93 slightly missing estimates of $4.98, even as profit rose year over year and revenue beat expectations. MarketBeat earnings report
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are also weighing margin pressure, as higher transportation costs and compressed gross margins may limit near-term upside despite the strong sales trend. Motley Fool article

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $1,192.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $926.00 to $977.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Twenty-one research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,051.18.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total transaction of $732,204.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,139,485.42. This trade represents a 10.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $995.20 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $1,008.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $962.53. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,096.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $441.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.94 and a beta of 0.92.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.98 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.68 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 2.99%.During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.28 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.33 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.58%.

Costco Wholesale 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.