Park National Corp OH Increases Stock Holdings in Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST

21 Mar 2026, 06:30 by Doug Wharley · The Cerbat Gem

Park National Corp OH boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,814 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,447 shares during the quarter. Park National Corp OH’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $30,884,000 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. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated increased its stake in Costco Wholesale by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,780 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares in the last quarter. Permanent Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter worth $874,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 43.6% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 23,444 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $21,700,000 after buying an additional 7,116 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the third quarter valued at $2,781,000. Finally, Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA increased its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA now owns 18,132 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $17,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,003.02, for a total value of $732,204.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,121 shares in the company, valued at $6,139,485.42. This represents a 10.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Javier Polit sold 2,049 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $867.21, for a total value of $1,776,913.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 10,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,320,773.08. This trade represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 7,645 shares of company stock valued at $7,049,302 in the last 90 days. 0.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COST has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,065.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,050.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $926.00 to $977.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,039.13.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Costco Wholesale

Key Costco Wholesale News

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

Positive Sentiment: Costco is keeping fuel prices low with a deliberate pricing strategy to stay cheaper than competitors, which can drive continued traffic and membership value. As Gas Prices Soar, Costco’s Using This Smart Strategy To Stay Cheaper Than Most
Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains constructive: consensus ratings across brokerages show a majority buy/moderate-buy stance, supporting investor confidence. Costco Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts
Positive Sentiment: Costco upgraded its retail-media platform, a potential new ad-revenue stream that can boost margins over time. Costco upgrades its retail media platform
Positive Sentiment: Multiple bullish write-ups (seeking-alpha coverage and long-term valuation defenses) are reinforcing the narrative that Costco’s membership model and pricing power can sustain outperformance. Costco: A Likely Outperformer Based On The Business Model
Neutral Sentiment: CEO Ron Vachris addressed questions about the $1.50 hot dog combo, offering clarity to a vocal part of Costco’s brand/PR — removes a potential source of uncertainty but has limited direct earnings impact. Costco CEO gives update on future of $1.50 hot dog and soda combo
Neutral Sentiment: Costco added new Kirkland Signature items (and launched a private-label refrigerated dog food), moves that can deepen margins and member loyalty but may take time to scale. Costco adds Kirkland Signature items
Neutral Sentiment: Industry coverage and investor-interest pieces (Zacks, Yahoo, TipRanks) are drawing attention to COST, which can amplify trading activity but not necessarily change fundamentals. Costco is Attracting Investor Attention
Negative Sentiment: Valuation remains a risk: COST trades at a premium (P/E around 50x), leaving limited room for error if same-store sales or margin expansion disappoint — this makes the stock sensitive to any weaker-than-expected data.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST opened at $972.33 on Friday. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $844.06 and a twelve month high of $1,067.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $431.37 billion, a PE ratio of 50.56, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $984.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $938.57.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 5th. The retailer reported $4.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by $0.03. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 28.57%. The company had revenue of $69.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $68.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.02 EPS. Costco Wholesale’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 13th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.04%.

Costco Wholesale Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.