Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Stock Purchased by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 44.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 104,853 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,047 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.3% of Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $95,452,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter worth about $6,781,946,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $672,690,000 after buying an additional 6,720,130 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $22,359,224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,749,362 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 5,472,968 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,362,188,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco reported September net sales of $30.02 billion, up 13% year over year. Total comparable sales increased 11.4%, with U.S. comps up 12.5%, Canada up 6.3% and other international markets up 10.8%. Costco September Sales Results
• Positive Sentiment: Underlying demand remained healthy: comparable sales excluding gasoline-price and foreign-exchange effects rose approximately 7.6%, supported by stronger traffic and transaction growth. Digital sales also increased 19%, indicating broad momentum beyond Costco’s warehouse locations. Costco September Sales Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The strong start to fiscal 2027 supports the view that Costco continues to gain from value-conscious consumers and a resilient membership-based model. Analysts highlighted traffic and transaction growth as particularly important indicators for future revenue performance. Costco Sales Rise in September
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports note that part of the headline sales increase was helped by higher gasoline prices and potentially temporary, lower-margin sales categories. Investors may therefore focus more closely on traffic, transactions and core sales than on the 13% reported growth rate. Costco Sales Rebound Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Costco’s premium valuation leaves limited room for disappointing growth or margin trends. Ongoing tariff and margin-pressure concerns, along with a lawsuit alleging misleading “sugar-free” labeling for a Kirkland drink mix, represent potential risks, though neither appears material to current sales momentum.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total value of $2,015,046.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 7,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,534,244.62. The trade was a 23.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST traded up $5.67 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $947.92. 2,267,778 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,195,423. The stock has a market cap of $420.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.66, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $930.81 and a 200-day moving average of $963.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.06. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $95.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.97 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 27.60% and a net margin of 3.04%.The business’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.87 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $1,125.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,130.00 to $1,100.00 in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Freedom Broker lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,030.00 to $1,010.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,046.27.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells a broad selection of merchandise, including groceries, fresh foods, beverages, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal products. It also offers services such as gasoline, pharmacies, optical departments, hearing-aid centers, food courts, travel services, and business delivery in selected markets.

Costco markets many products under its private-label Kirkland Signature brand and sells merchandise through warehouse locations and e-commerce platforms.