Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,604 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 679 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $9,144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hurley Capital LLC lifted its position in Costco Wholesale by 120.0% in the third quarter. Hurley Capital LLC now owns 33 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Joseph Group Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Imprint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Key Costco Wholesale News

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,050.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $1,125.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Evercore set a $1,100.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. 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 assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,060.41.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST opened at $975.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $1,005.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $966.63. The stock has a market cap of $432.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.76 and a beta of 0.88. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $844.06 and a fifty-two week high of $1,096.50. 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 issued its 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). The firm had revenue of $70.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.12 billion. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 28.04%. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 20.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 1st. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio 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.