Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,129 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.6% of IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $72,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COST. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at $5,195,415,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1,586.8% during the fourth 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 period. Amundi lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,697,000 after purchasing an additional 986,182 shares during the period. Vestor Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 20,936.6% during the fourth quarter. Vestor Capital LLC now owns 970,840 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $837,194,000 after purchasing an additional 966,225 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 182.4% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 536,059 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $462,265,000 after purchasing an additional 346,208 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,125.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, May 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $1,175.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,060.41.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Costco, lifting FY2026 EPS to $20.49 and FY2027 EPS to $22.61, slightly above prior forecasts and reinforcing confidence in Costco’s long-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said he thinks investors should “buy some here,” adding another public bullish call on Costco and keeping the stock in focus as a defensive long-term holding.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple commentary pieces highlighted Costco’s membership-fee model as a durable, recurring-revenue engine, which continues to appeal to investors looking for steady compounding and defensive growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s CEO is set to receive a leadership honor for advancing women in corporate governance, adding a modest ESG/governance positive for institutional investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles noted that Costco allows some shopping without a membership in the U.S., a consumer-facing detail that may support traffic but is not likely to materially change fundamentals on its own. Confirmed: Costco Reveals the Only Way to Shop Without a Membership Anywhere in the United States
• Neutral Sentiment: Costco is fighting a lawsuit over claims that its $5 rotisserie chicken is falsely advertised as having “no preservatives,” which creates headline risk but has not yet been shown to affect operations. Costco fires back over lawsuit tied to iconic product as shoppers claim false advertising
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary comparing Costco with Dollar Tree suggested tighter consumer budgets could increase competition on value, which may pressure pricing power at the margin if shoppers trade down.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.8%

COST stock opened at $975.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $432.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.08, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $1,005.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $966.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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). The company had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders 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. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.58%.

Costco Wholesale Company 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.