Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Reduces Stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 96,644 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,302 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale makes up 2.1% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $96,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 392 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 13 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 750.0% during the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 34 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 30.4% during the first quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 686 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. DMC Group LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 0.6% during the first quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 1,890 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,883,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC boosted its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 3.1% in the first quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,954 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 68.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remained generally constructive, with multiple firms reiterating Buy/Overweight views and price targets around or above current levels, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside for Costco despite the recent pullback.
• Positive Sentiment: Costco announced a quarterly dividend of $1.47 per share, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile. Costco stock overview and dividend note
• Positive Sentiment: Management also expanded its digital wallet feature, which could improve checkout speed and customer convenience. Costco makes payment change that could speed up checkout for members
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data showed no meaningful change, with reported short interest at zero shares, offering little signal for near-term trading.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are focusing on a slowdown in June sales momentum and weaker adjusted comparable-sales growth, which raises concern that Costco may be losing some near-term growth speed. Reuters article reference
• Negative Sentiment: Competition is intensifying as Walmart and Kroger cut prices, increasing pressure on Costco’s value proposition and margin outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: New headlines about a class-action lawsuit alleging Costco sold protein powder with heavy metals add legal and reputational risk. Consumers sue Costco over heavy metals in protein powder

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In other news, Director Kenneth D. Denman sold 885 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $957.45, for a total transaction of $847,343.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,575,653.55. This represents a 15.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded up $3.28 during trading on Friday, hitting $916.25. 2,099,105 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,488,933. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52-week low of $844.06 and a 52-week high of $1,096.50. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $983.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $975.25. The company has a market cap of $406.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.09, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.88.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The retailer reported $4.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.94 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on COST shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,125.00 to $1,135.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $769.00 to $781.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,110.00 to $1,100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,061.10.

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.