Wulff Hansen & CO. Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Wulff Hansen & CO. lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,034 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,558 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.6% of Wulff Hansen & CO.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $1,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,692,035,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 96,316.6% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,378,758 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,364,888,000 after buying an additional 1,377,328 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,356,271 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $42,920,107,000 after acquiring an additional 711,560 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Costco Wholesale by 9.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,291,557 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $4,248,384,000 after acquiring an additional 383,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 15,055.5% in the second quarter. Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. now owns 320,994 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $317,722,000 after acquiring an additional 318,876 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst price-target upgrades: Bernstein raised its target (to ~$1,155) and Evercore ISI lifted its target to $1,050, keeping upbeat ratings that support upside expectations. Bernstein Boosts COST Target
• Positive Sentiment: Europe expansion: Costco is piloting e‑commerce delivery in Europe, a meaningful new addressable market that could drive long‑term top‑line growth if scaled. Costco Tests European E Commerce Delivery
• Positive Sentiment: Membership & promotions: Ongoing member promotions (e.g., digital shop-card offers) and strong member perks sustain renewal rates and engagement. Get a $20 Digital Costco Shop Card
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum and growth narratives: Multiple Zacks pieces highlight Costco as a momentum/top‑growth stock, supporting investor sentiment around durable comp and digital trends. Here’s Why Costco is a Strong Momentum Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data appears erroneous (reports show 0 shares / NaN changes and a 0.0 days-to-cover ratio); not meaningful as reported and unlikely to explain price moves.
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate culture/dei: Fortune reports Costco maintained DEI programs while some peers cut back—this may support talent/brand but is not an immediate earnings driver. Costco defied Trump’s DEI directive
• Neutral Sentiment: Customer coverage pieces (both positive “in awe” stories and critiques of recent changes) reflect mixed consumer sentiment—useful for brand monitoring but limited near-term impact. 10 Costco Changes That Made Customers Angry
• Negative Sentiment: Product recall: A recall of mini beignets for undeclared hazelnuts affects operations and could create modest near‑term costs or reputational noise. Costco recalls mini beignets
• Negative Sentiment: Tariff/legal risk: The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear challenges to former‑administration tariffs (Feb. 20); an adverse ruling or delayed refunds could hurt retailer margins or cash recoveries. President Trump’s Tariffs To Face Feb.20 Supreme Court Hearing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,044.00 target price on Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,025.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,009.00.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ COST opened at $1,018.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $452.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.27 and a beta of 1.01. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,077.49. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $922.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $932.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.04 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total value of $1,776,913.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,320,773.08. This represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total transaction of $1,408,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,101,943. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,097 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

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.