Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Sold by Trillium Asset Management LLC

Trillium Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,412 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 12,486 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises 1.3% of Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $42,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hurley Capital LLC increased its stake in 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 last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $34,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on COST. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,104.00 to $1,106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,205.00 to $1,275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $1,000.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,175.00 to $1,315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Twenty-two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,060.41.

Key Headlines Impacting 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.

Costco Wholesale Trading Up 0.7%

COST opened at $982.35 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 52 week low of $844.06 and a 52 week high of $1,096.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $1,005.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $966.74. The firm has a market cap of $435.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.41, a P/E/G ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released 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). Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 28.04% and a net margin of 3.01%.The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

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