Lavelle Capital LP Takes Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Lavelle Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 633 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $631,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,620,717 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $37,615,889,000 after buying an additional 165,349 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,919,573,000 after acquiring an additional 26,690 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,523,423 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,212,433,000 after acquiring an additional 107,775 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 11.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $7,488,203,000 after acquiring an additional 773,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $672,690,000 after acquiring an additional 6,720,130 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: Analysts and financial publications continue to highlight Costco’s strong momentum, durable membership model, consistent profit growth and long-term shareholder returns. One analysis suggests the retailer could eventually pursue trillion-dollar-company status if it sustains warehouse expansion, membership growth and operating execution. Why Costco Is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s reported experiment with expanding or changing gasoline sales could create another source of traffic, member engagement and revenue over time, although the financial impact remains uncertain. Costco Gasoline Sales Experiment
• Positive Sentiment: New product partnerships and continued customer interest—including expanded beverage distribution and popular food offerings—reinforce Costco’s ability to attract shoppers and support sales, though these developments are not expected to materially change near-term earnings. Coco5 Costco Partnership

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the sale, the director owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at $4,575,653.55. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $951.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $422.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.88, a PEG ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50-day moving average is $955.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $982.10. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. Analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.42 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on COST. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,110.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,059.07.

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.