William Blair Cuts Earnings Estimates for Costco Wholesale

Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) – Equities researchers at William Blair dropped their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, May 7th. William Blair analyst P. Blee now anticipates that the retailer will post earnings per share of $4.16 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $4.18. The consensus estimate for Costco Wholesale’s current full-year earnings is $18.03 per share.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on COST. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,035.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,045.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,024.03.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Costco Wholesale stock opened at $1,008.70 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Costco Wholesale has a 12 month low of $771.43 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $958.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $964.05. The stock has a market cap of $447.54 billion, a PE ratio of 59.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion.

Institutional Trading of Costco Wholesale

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,822 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 4,786 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,386,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 96,068 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $88,024,000 after purchasing an additional 5,756 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,459,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Matrix Trust Co grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,491 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $2,282,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Roland Michael Vachris sold 3,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $931.00, for a total transaction of $3,351,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 41,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $38,242,687. This represents a 8.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP James C. Klauer sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $981.07, for a total value of $3,924,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,994 shares in the company, valued at $43,161,193.58. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,600 shares of company stock worth $9,140,195. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 2nd. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.36%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

Costco Wholesale Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Japan, the United Kingdom, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, China, Spain, France, Iceland, New Zealand, and Sweden. The company offers branded and private-label products in a range of merchandise categories.