Smart Money Group LLC Sells 671 Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Smart Money Group LLC lowered its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 57.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 504 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 671 shares during the quarter. Smart Money Group LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $466,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,814,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,110 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Bank raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 4.2% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 5,846 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,787,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect solid Q2 results (consensus ~ $4.55 EPS on ~$69.25B revenue) and Street sentiment is bullish, which underpins the recent rally and investor optimism. Should You Buy Costco Stock Before Thursday’s Q2 Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reinstated coverage with a Buy and a $1,185 price target, citing pricing power and strong customer loyalty — a high-profile analyst endorsement that can support further upside. Costco (COST) Gains Buy Rating From BofA on Strength of Pricing and Customer Loyalty
• Positive Sentiment: Costco is pursuing membership growth and opening new warehouses selectively; management’s focus on renewals and membership revenue remains a structural earnings driver. Costco banks on membership growth to drive dividend payout
• Positive Sentiment: Costco is among >1,800 companies pursuing tariff-refund lawsuits after recent Supreme Court rulings; a favorable outcome could produce material cash inflows or lower future import costs. Costco Tariff Lawsuits Could Reshape Costs And Cash For Members
• Neutral Sentiment: Street coverage and retail previews (Zacks, Barron’s, TipRanks) highlight Costco as a key data point in a busy retail earnings week — results could move the stock but are likely to be interpreted in the context of peers. Is Costco Stock (COST) a Buy Ahead of Q2 Earnings?
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America starting/renewing research coverage increases liquidity in analyst dialogue but doesn’t guarantee near-term price moves; treat as visibility improvement. Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) Research Coverage Started at Bank of America
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical shocks (recent US/Israel actions on Iran) have pushed risk-off flows and pressured futures — broader market weakness could cap Costco’s upside even if company results meet expectations. Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq futures plunge while oil prices surge as Iran conflict jolts markets

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total value of $1,408,500.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,837 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,101,943. The trade was a 3.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 558 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $862.89, for a total transaction of $481,492.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,792,849.10. This represents a 5.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 6,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,317,097 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,010.79 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $948.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $934.65. The stock has a market cap of $448.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.11 and a beta of 1.00. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,067.08. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion for 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%. Costco Wholesale’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on COST. Bank of America began coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,185.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $947.00 to $917.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,016.18.

About Costco Wholesale

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.