iSAM Funds UK Ltd Grows Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

iSAM Funds UK Ltd grew its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 226.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,040 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 721 shares during the quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $6,781,946,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $672,690,000 after buying an additional 6,720,130 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,195,415,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 838.9% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,282,182,000 after buying an additional 5,472,968 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,362,188,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expansion supports long-term growth: Costco plans to open 14 warehouses across the United States and Canada before the end of 2026, including five in October and nine in November. New locations could increase membership, sales and recurring fee revenue. Costco set to expand with 14 new warehouses across US and Canada
• Positive Sentiment: A relocated Newport News warehouse is scheduled to open in November, providing additional capacity and potentially improving the customer experience in that market. Relocated Newport News Costco set to open in November
• Positive Sentiment: Freedom Broker upgraded COST to Buy, offering supportive analyst sentiment after the stock’s recent underperformance. Costco Wholesale Raised to Buy at Freedom Broker
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlights Costco’s efforts to improve shopping convenience and add seasonal merchandise, initiatives that may strengthen member loyalty and spending relative to Walmart and Amazon. Costco fixed the one thing members hated about shopping there
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data showed zero shares and a zero-day days-to-cover ratio, but the reported increase was listed as “NaN,” making the figures unreliable and unlikely to provide a meaningful trading signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: A profile of a well-paid Costco meat cutter underscores the company’s wages, benefits and employee retention, but has limited direct impact on near-term financial results. Costco employee discusses wages and career choice
• Negative Sentiment: Costco reportedly shut down its online Marketplace service, raising questions about e-commerce execution and the company’s ability to compete digitally. Costco abruptly shuts down Marketplace online service
• Negative Sentiment: Residents near the planned Lee’s Summit warehouse are concerned about traffic, potentially causing permitting, construction or community-relations friction. Residents concerned Costco’s new Lee’s Summit location will cause traffic issues
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary argues Costco may have lost part of its competitive edge and questions whether the stock’s premium valuation is justified after recent underperformance. Cramer warns Costco may have lost its edge

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $1,091.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 4th. Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $1,030.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $1,144.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, September 4th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $1,175.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $1,020.00 target price for the company. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,056.03.

Costco Wholesale Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of COST stock opened at $902.38 on Friday. 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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $941.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $974.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $400.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.39, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.86.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth Denman sold 885 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total value of $847,343.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at $4,575,653.55. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates membership-based warehouse clubs that offer a broad selection of merchandise at generally competitive prices. Its product range includes groceries, fresh foods, apparel, appliances, electronics, furniture, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal goods, along with private-label products sold under the Kirkland Signature brand.

The company also provides a variety of ancillary services, including gasoline stations, pharmacies, optical centers, hearing-aid centers, food courts, tire centers, and travel services.