Mcdonald Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Mcdonald Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 67.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 702 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 1,471 shares during the quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Soundwatch Capital LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 635.7% in the 2nd quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 2,206 shares during the period. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA purchased a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hurley Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 120.0% during the third quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and retail commentators point to ongoing outperformance driven by membership strength and customers trading down in a pressured economy — executive membership upgrades are boosting revenues and margins. Where Will Costco Stock Be in 1 Year?
• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s tech push — AI inventory tools, digital wallet and faster checkout — is showing productivity gains that can protect low prices and margins, reinforcing the growth narrative. Is Costco’s Technology Spending Finally Fueling Better Productivity?
• Positive Sentiment: Store expansion and large real?estate wins (new openings and anchoring the Viva White Oak development) support longer?term same?store traffic and membership growth. Costco To Anchor Massive Montgomery County Development
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming earnings (March 5) are the immediate catalyst — investors are weighing Costco’s streak of beats against rich expectations; this creates short?term volatility depending on the print and guidance. Costco (COST) Reports Q1: Everything You Need To Know Ahead Of Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Ongoing favorable analyst coverage and momentum/ growth score stories keep investor interest high, but they also reinforce expectations that are already priced in. 3 Reasons Why Growth Investors Shouldn’t Overlook Costco (COST)
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent short?interest data in public feeds appears inconsistent (zeros/NaN), suggesting no meaningful short squeeze signal — treat those data points cautiously.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns are prominent — some analyses argue COST is expensive near the $1,000 level (high P/E vs. retail peers), prompting sell/trim arguments that can cap upside. Sell Costco Stock At $1,000?
• Negative Sentiment: Customer friction from confusing return?policy reports could modestly dent sentiment if amplified, though it’s unlikely to materially affect fundamentals. Costco members confused over return policy rule

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ COST opened at $1,007.77 on Wednesday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 1-year low of $844.06 and a 1-year high of $1,067.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $954.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $935.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $447.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.81 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 11th. The retailer reported $4.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $67.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.03 billion. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 29.35% and a net margin of 2.96%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.85%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.00, for a total transaction of $1,408,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,101,943. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Teresa A. Jones sold 850 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $986.26, for a total transaction of $838,321.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,228 shares in the company, valued at $4,169,907.28. This represents a 16.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 6,915 shares of company stock worth $6,317,097 over the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Gordon Haskett increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $890.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Bank of America started coverage on Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, February 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1,185.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,044.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,016.18.

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.