Manchester Financial Inc. Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Manchester Financial Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,343 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 520 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up about 0.7% of Manchester Financial Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Manchester Financial Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $3,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hurley Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Joseph Group Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Daiwa Securities Group upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $917.00 to $975.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Twenty-two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ COST opened at $975.69 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,096.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,005.62 and a 200-day moving average of $966.63. The firm has a market cap of $432.70 billion, a PE ratio of 49.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current 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 $1.47 dividend. This is a boost 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 is presently 29.58%.

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.