Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 40.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,035 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 30,032 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $43,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of COST. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $672,690,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720,130 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the fourth quarter worth $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 838.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,472,968 shares in the last quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 907.1% during the fourth quarter. Cardano Risk Management B.V. now owns 1,785,080 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,539,346,000 after buying an additional 1,607,833 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 45.0% during the third quarter. Amundi now owns 3,176,606 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,893,697,000 after buying an additional 986,182 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. The trade was a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,192.00 to $1,194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research 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 stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Twenty-two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,059.07.

Costco Wholesale News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: High renewal rates reinforce Costco’s recurring-revenue model. The company’s U.S.-Canada renewal rate reached 92.2%, while executive memberships and digital customer retention continued to grow. The trends suggest Costco is maintaining strong customer loyalty despite changes in its membership mix. Costco’s Renewal Trends Point to Lasting Customer Loyalty
• Positive Sentiment: Membership initiatives appear to be addressing customer concerns. Analysts cited Costco’s value proposition, membership growth and retention as key strengths, supporting the long-term outlook for membership-fee income and customer traffic. Costco’s changes fix members’ biggest problems
• Positive Sentiment: Demographic expansion could support future membership growth. Interest from Gen Z consumers suggests Costco may be attracting younger households, potentially extending its customer base and supporting long-term renewal trends. Your Gen Z grandkid wants a Costco membership
• Neutral Sentiment: A market article included Costco among cash-generating companies worth researching, but cautioned that strong cash flow alone does not guarantee successful reinvestment or growth. 2 Cash-Producing Stocks to Research Further and 1 We Avoid
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports highlighting a popular frozen food item and broader market strength may support brand engagement and general sentiment, but they are unlikely to materially affect Costco’s earnings outlook. One of Costco’s best frozen items is secretly a delicious Raising Cane’s dupe
• Negative Sentiment: Costco agreed to a $14 million settlement related to allegedly misleading urgency-based emails. The financial charge is modest relative to Costco’s size, but the matter creates compliance and reputational risk. Costco’s $14M settlement over fake urgency emails
• Negative Sentiment: Optimistic forecasts that Costco could eventually reach a $1 trillion valuation underscore its growth potential, but also highlight investor concerns about the stock’s already elevated valuation and limited room for execution mistakes. Prediction: Costco Will Become a Trillion Dollar Company on This Date

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.2%

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $954.08 on Tuesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,096.50. The company has a market capitalization of $423.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.60 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $953.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $982.47. 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 (NASDAQ:COST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). The company 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.