Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Bought by Montecito Bank & Trust

01 Oct 2026, 23:42 by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets Daily

Montecito Bank & Trust grew its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST – Free Report) by 26.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,663 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale makes up 1.3% of Montecito Bank & Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Montecito Bank & Trust’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,901,594 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $22,359,224,000 after buying an additional 5,749,362 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Costco Wholesale by 11.5% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,515,031 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $7,488,203,000 after buying an additional 773,651 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 99,278.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,726,899 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $672,690,000 after buying an additional 6,720,130 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Costco Wholesale by 838.9% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,125,405 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $5,282,182,000 after buying an additional 5,472,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,328,729 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,732,836,000 after acquiring an additional 143,150 shares during the period. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $4.60 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $914.94. 2,108,409 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,201,888. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $933.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $965.95. The company has a market cap of $405.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.07, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.86. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a 12 month low of $844.06 and a 12 month high of $1,096.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The retailer reported $6.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.54 by $0.21. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 3.04% and a return on equity of 27.60%. The business had revenue of $95.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94.97 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 22.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were given a $1.47 dividend. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 28.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on COST shares. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,000.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird set a $1,175.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,160.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,144.00 to $1,143.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Twenty-two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,046.27.

Read Our Latest Research Report on COST

Key Stories Impacting Costco Wholesale

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

Positive Sentiment: Costco’s ancillary businesses—including gasoline, pharmacy and travel—are increasing member engagement, expanding share of wallet and potentially supporting higher-margin revenue. Costco’s Ancillary Businesses Expand Share-of-Wallet Opportunity
Positive Sentiment: Recent fiscal fourth-quarter results remain the primary bullish catalyst: revenue rose 11.1% year over year to $95.72 billion and earnings reached $6.75 per share, exceeding consensus estimates. Strong traffic, larger baskets, membership growth, digital sales and warehouse expansion reinforce Costco’s growth outlook. Costco Q4 Earnings Beat
Positive Sentiment: New and converted Business Center locations in Texas and Kansas City should broaden Costco’s commercial customer base and add long-term sales capacity. Haltom City Business Center
Neutral Sentiment: Commentary remains supportive of Costco’s recurring membership-fee model and intermittent special dividends, although any future $10 or $15 special dividend is uncertain. Costco Special Dividend Commentary
Neutral Sentiment: AI-related demand may push up prices for certain electronics and other products, encouraging members to buy sooner but potentially creating affordability and margin considerations for retailers. Costco Prices and AI Demand
Negative Sentiment: EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares worth approximately $2.02 million, reducing her direct stake by 23.57%. The transaction does not indicate weaker fundamentals, but insider selling can weigh on sentiment. Claudine Adamo Insider Sale
Negative Sentiment: At roughly 44 times earnings, COST remains expensive relative to much of retail. Analysts continue to cite limited room for execution mistakes, even though the consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy.”

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 2,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $915.93, for a total transaction of $2,015,046.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 7,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,534,244.62. This trade represents a 23.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the company’s stock.

About Costco Wholesale

(Free Report)

Costco Wholesale Corporation operates a membership-based warehouse retail business under the Costco name. The company sells a broad selection of merchandise, including groceries, fresh foods, beverages, appliances, electronics, furniture, apparel, jewelry, hardware, and seasonal products. It also offers services such as gasoline, pharmacies, optical departments, hearing-aid centers, food courts, travel services, and business delivery in selected markets.

Costco markets many products under its private-label Kirkland Signature brand and sells merchandise through warehouse locations and e-commerce platforms.

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