Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Invests $4.79 Million in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,554 shares of the retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,789,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,620,717 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $37,615,889,000 after purchasing an additional 165,349 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,919,573,000 after purchasing an additional 26,690 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,523,423 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $8,212,433,000 after purchasing an additional 107,775 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,195,415,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,937,286 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,395,301,000 after purchasing an additional 77,650 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

More Costco Wholesale News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank lifted its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings forecasts for Costco, signaling expectations for stronger profitability ahead.
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary in 24/7 Wall St. emphasized Costco’s membership-fee model as a resilient source of recurring revenue that can support long-term earnings growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Barchart coverage noted Costco as one of the retail names rewarding shareholders with a higher dividend, reinforcing the company’s capital-return appeal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage that Costco offers shopping without a membership in limited cases is mainly informational and not likely to materially affect the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: The Iowa court decision involving a former Costco manager appears to be a legal headline with limited direct impact on the company’s overall financial outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Bloomberg reported rising plastic input costs may lead to higher prices for consumer goods later this year, which could add inflation pressure to Costco’s retail environment and potentially squeeze margins or demand.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on COST. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,104.00 to $1,106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, June 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,088.00 to $1,159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $982.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $435.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.41, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $1,005.34 and a 200 day moving average of $966.74. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,096.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were issued a $1.47 dividend. This is a boost from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.58%.

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.