Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP Raises Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP raised its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,924 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the quarter. Evelyn Partners Investment Management LLP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 26,690 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position 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 buying an additional 107,775 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,195,415,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position 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 buying an additional 77,650 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $769.00 to $781.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Mizuho set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, June 1st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $1,175.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,185.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Twenty-two research 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 company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of COST opened at $982.35 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $1,005.34 and its 200 day moving average is $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 stock has a market capitalization of $435.65 billion, a PE ratio of 49.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88. 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 announced 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). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.The business had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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

About Costco Wholesale

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.