Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. trimmed its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 11.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 153,413 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 20,159 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $132,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,620,717 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $37,615,889,000 after purchasing an additional 165,349 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,388,519 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,919,573,000 after purchasing an additional 26,690 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 9,523,423 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,212,433,000 after purchasing an additional 107,775 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth about $5,195,415,000. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,937,286 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,395,301,000 after purchasing an additional 77,650 shares in the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on COST shares. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,125.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $977.00 to $1,011.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,175.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,060.41.

Trending Headlines about Costco Wholesale

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.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $982.35 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $1,005.34 and its 200-day moving average is $966.74. The stock has a market cap of $435.65 billion, a PE ratio of 49.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,096.50.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.94 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.28 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

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.