ORG Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 46.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,273 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,663 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 0.9% of ORG Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. ORG Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bulwark Capital Corp acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at $25,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Financial Connections Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 72.0% in the 2nd quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC now owns 43 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spurstone Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company-released December sales: net sales of $29.86B (up 8.5% yr/yr) and companywide comps +7.0%, with digitally-enabled sales up ~19%. This is the primary driver for the bullish move. Costco Reports December Sales Results
• Positive Sentiment: E-commerce acceleration: online/digitally-enabled sales jumped ~18–19% in December, boosting margins and omnichannel momentum that investors favor. Costco Stock Jumps as Online Sales Growth Reaches 18% in December
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and upgrades (Mizuho, Deutsche Bank mentions, Telsey reaffirming outperform) are lifting sentiment and providing upside to price targets. Costco Upgraded at Mizuho
• Positive Sentiment: Political/tariff developments: betting markets and reports increasingly price in relief from new tariffs — a potential tailwind for Costco’s import-heavy model. Betting Markets Predict 75% Chance Supreme Court Blocks Trump Tariffs
• Neutral Sentiment: Local expansion: city-level site news (Greenbrier Mall) signals ongoing real-estate pipeline but is not material yet to national results. Costco Could Be Coming to Greenbrier Mall
• Neutral Sentiment: Street commentary: portfolio managers and media guests (Wall Street Alliance video backing Costco) highlight execution focus — supportive but not a direct earnings catalyst. Aadil Zaman Backs Costco
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: outlets warn Costco trades near elevated multiples after years of outperformance, suggesting limited upside if growth slows — a short-term headwind for multiples. How Retailer Costco Can Drop
• Negative Sentiment: Media critique: high-profile commentator Jim Cramer said COST “should be repudiated this quarter,” which can amplify short-term selling despite longer-term bullish data. Jim Cramer: Costco Should be Repudiated

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, December 29th. Roth Capital set a $769.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 15th. HSBC reduced their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Gordon Haskett decreased their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty-one investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $996.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,700 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $935.68, for a total transaction of $2,526,336.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,851 shares in the company, valued at $6,410,343.68. The trade was a 28.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $862.89, for a total value of $481,492.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,792,849.10. The trade was a 5.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,946 shares of company stock worth $8,175,048 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

COST opened at $924.88 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,078.23. The firm has a market cap of $410.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.54, a PEG ratio of 5.48 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $892.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $931.95.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 29.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.04 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.85%.

Costco Wholesale 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.