Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) Receives $1,039.13 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty-four analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eleven have issued a hold recommendation and twenty-two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $1,039.1333.

COST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Northcoast Research set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. HSBC cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Roth Mkm restated a “sell” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,155.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Monday, February 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 458 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total transaction of $437,390.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,532 shares in the company, valued at $8,148,060. This represents a 5.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total value of $838,321.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,169,907.28. This trade represents a 16.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,645 shares of company stock worth $7,049,302. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Palisade Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 702 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $605,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the period. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Graybill Wealth Management LTD. now owns 3,194 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,754,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares in the last quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,760,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the period. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hobbs Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Busey Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 2,651 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,454,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of COST opened at $973.82 on Friday. Costco Wholesale has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,067.08. The company has a market capitalization of $432.04 billion, a PE ratio of 50.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $985.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $938.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.55 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $69.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.96 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.57% and a net margin of 2.99%.The business’s revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.02 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Costco Wholesale 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.04%.

Costco Wholesale News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s stock snapped a six-session losing streak, a technical turnaround that often attracts short‑term buying. Costco shares snap six-session losing streak
• Positive Sentiment: The Street highlights a secular tailwind as more Americans cut back on dining out, which benefits at‑home bulk grocery and membership retailers like Costco. That supports higher traffic and basket sizes. Costco sees big opportunity as Americans ditch restaurants
• Positive Sentiment: Costco launched a rival energy drink (reportedly impacting Celsius), signaling product expansion and private‑label premiumization that can boost margins and membership value. Celsius stock tumbles as Costco launches rival energy drink
• Positive Sentiment: Costco is expanding member services into fertility care and rolling out in‑store experiential events (outdoor cooking roadshow), diversifying revenue beyond bulk merchandise and strengthening membership stickiness. Costco Expands Member Offerings With Fertility Care And In Store Events
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst pieces (Zacks) reiterate a long‑term growth thesis driven by strong comparable sales, traffic and ticket growth—supporting investor confidence in earnings durability. Costco’s Comparable Sales Stay Strong: Is Traffic Driving Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple short‑interest reports show a “large increase” but list 0 shares / NaN changes and 0.0 days to cover — this appears to be a data glitch rather than meaningful shorting activity; investors should treat these entries as noise until corrected.
• Negative Sentiment: InsiderMonkey included Costco on a list of “most overvalued companies,” a headline that can feed headline‑driven selling or cautious positioning given COST’s premium valuation metrics. 5 Most Overvalued Companies According to the Media

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.