Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Trading 1.5% Higher – Time to Buy?

Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)’s share price rose 1.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $949.90 and last traded at $947.74. Approximately 2,338,775 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 7% from the average session volume of 2,190,632 shares. The stock had previously closed at $933.51.

More Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Medicare expansion creates a new growth opportunity. Costco is partnering with SCAN Group to offer Costco-branded Medicare Advantage and supplemental plans in select states. The initiative targets Costco’s large senior-member base and gives the company exposure to the approximately $600 billion Medicare market without requiring it to become a traditional insurer. Costco to Offer Medicare Plans for Older Adults
• Positive Sentiment: Costco raised its dividend by 13.1%. The increase reinforces the company’s strong cash-generation profile and may improve its appeal to income-oriented investors, although the stock’s high valuation limits its current dividend yield. Costco Just Upped Its Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Additional monetization opportunities could support long-term growth. Analysts and commentators point to Costco’s retail-media business, AI-powered search capabilities and pharmacy operations as emerging growth engines alongside membership renewals, warehouse expansion and Kirkland Signature products. Costco Is Quietly Building Its Next Big Growth Engine
• Neutral Sentiment: Costco’s relative resilience compared with Walmart highlights its value proposition. Walmart reported weaker U.S. traffic and comparable-sales growth, while Costco was less affected, suggesting its membership model and perceived value may be helping it navigate consumer affordability pressures. Walmart Drops on Slow Same-Store Sales Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: A potential stock split is speculative. Costco shares have appreciated substantially since the prior 2-for-1 split 26 years ago. A future split could improve accessibility and trading liquidity, but it would not change the company’s underlying value or fundamentals. Costco Stock Split Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and modest earnings pressure remain risks. Costco trades at a lofty earnings multiple, while its latest quarterly EPS narrowly missed estimates despite revenue exceeding expectations. That premium leaves less room for disappointment if membership growth, margins or consumer spending weaken.
• Negative Sentiment: The Medicare initiative will require execution. Entering a regulated, competitive insurance market could diversify revenue, but the pilot’s limited geographic rollout and potential healthcare-related complexity mean meaningful financial benefits may take time to develop. Costco Enters the Medicare Insurance Market

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,120.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,059.53.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $420.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $947.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $981.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its 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). 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 analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.28 EPS. Analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were paid a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total transaction of $847,343.25. Following the sale, the director owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at $4,575,653.55. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Costco Wholesale

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $6,781,946,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $672,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720,130 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth about $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,282,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472,968 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,362,188,000. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.