Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Welch & Forbes LLC

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 161,366 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 979 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 2.1% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $160,790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 3,194 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,754,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Effects LLC lifted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.2% in the first quarter. Wealth Effects LLC now owns 874 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.8% in the first quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 551 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Finally, Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,760,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,575,653.55. This trade represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained generally constructive, with multiple firms reiterating Buy/Overweight views and price targets around or above current levels, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside for Costco despite the recent pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.47 per share, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile. Costco stock overview and dividend note
• Positive Sentiment: Management also expanded its digital wallet feature, which could improve checkout speed and customer convenience. Costco makes payment change that could speed up checkout for members
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, with reported short interest at zero shares, offering little signal for near-term trading.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are focusing on a slowdown in June sales momentum and weaker adjusted comparable-sales growth, which raises concern that Costco may be losing some near-term growth speed. Reuters article reference
• Negative Sentiment: Competition is intensifying as Walmart and Kroger cut prices, increasing pressure on Costco’s value proposition and margin outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: New headlines about a class-action lawsuit alleging Costco sold protein powder with heavy metals add legal and reputational risk. Consumers sue Costco over heavy metals in protein powder

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ COST traded up $3.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $916.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,099,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,488,933. 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 $406.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $983.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $975.25. 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 earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.The business had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Roth Capital increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $769.00 to $781.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Monday, June 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,185.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,061.10.

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.