Sepio Capital LP Boosts Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

Sepio Capital LP lifted its position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,315 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $5,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of COST. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,825 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $18,165,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,029,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,814,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 2,110 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,089,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale by 2.2% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 8,502 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,416,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their earnings estimates for Costco, lifting FY2026 EPS to $20.49 and FY2027 EPS to $22.61, slightly above prior forecasts and reinforcing confidence in Costco’s long-term earnings power.
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer said he thinks investors should “buy some here,” adding another public bullish call on Costco and keeping the stock in focus as a defensive long-term holding.
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple commentary pieces highlighted Costco’s membership-fee model as a durable, recurring-revenue engine, which continues to appeal to investors looking for steady compounding and defensive growth.
• Positive Sentiment: Costco’s CEO is set to receive a leadership honor for advancing women in corporate governance, adding a modest ESG/governance positive for institutional investors.
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles noted that Costco allows some shopping without a membership in the U.S., a consumer-facing detail that may support traffic but is not likely to materially change fundamentals on its own. Confirmed: Costco Reveals the Only Way to Shop Without a Membership Anywhere in the United States
• Neutral Sentiment: Costco is fighting a lawsuit over claims that its $5 rotisserie chicken is falsely advertised as having “no preservatives,” which creates headline risk but has not yet been shown to affect operations. Costco fires back over lawsuit tied to iconic product as shoppers claim false advertising
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary comparing Costco with Dollar Tree suggested tighter consumer budgets could increase competition on value, which may pressure pricing power at the margin if shoppers trade down.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

NASDAQ:COST opened at $975.69 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a one year low of $844.06 and a one year high of $1,096.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $432.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.08, a PEG ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $1,005.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $966.63.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted 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 net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. The business had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $70.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.28 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 EPS for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid 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 was Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on COST shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,104.00 to $1,106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,060.00 to $1,110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Twenty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,060.41.

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.