In a January 16th SEC filing, Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma) disclosed a purchase of Costco Wholesale stock on December 29th valued between $15,001 and $50,000. This transaction represents the senator’s latest in a series of trades executed on that date, which also included similar purchases in Deere & Company, Hilton Worldwide, RTX, Coca-Cola, Elevance Health and The Goldman Sachs Group. The move signals continued bipartisan interest in the membership-based retailer, following Mullin’s acquisition of shares in American Express and a larger purchase of Amazon.com and JPMorgan Chase shares earlier the same day.

Costco reported fourth-quarter earnings on December 11th, delivering $4.34 in adjusted EPS, beating consensus estimates by $0.07 and representing an 8.3% year-over-year increase in revenue to $67.31 billion. Net margin stood at 2.96% and return on equity reached 29.35%. The board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, marking a 30% annualized increase versus the same quarter last year, with a payout ratio of 27.85%. The dividend will be paid on February 13th to holders of record as of January 30th, supporting the yield-focused segment of the shareholder base.

Hedge funds have been active in recent quarters: Norges Bank added a new position valued at approximately $5.7 billion during the second quarter, while Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC and Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC each boosted holdings by over 400,000% and 96,000% respectively. Assenagon Asset Management increased its stake by 1,586.8% in the fourth quarter, and Amundi lifted its position by 45.0% in the third quarter. Meanwhile, insiders have reduced exposure: EVP James C. Klauer sold 1,500 shares mid-January, trimming his position by 3.24%, and EVP Javier Polit disposed of 558 shares at the end of December, representing a 5.19% reduction. Corporate insiders now account for just 0.10% of total shares outstanding.