Top Costco Shareholders

Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) has grown into a major warehouse retailer in the U.S. and abroad over four decades. It offers low prices on large packages of name-brand products. It sells groceries, appliances, electronics, apparel, and other items.

The company opened its first Costco warehouse under co-founders Jim Sinegal and Jeff Brotman in 1983 in Seattle. It eventually merged with Price Club 10 years later. The company returned to the name Costco in 1997 after a short period operating as PriceCostco and it has expanded dramatically since then.

Costco has over 127 million members who purchase long-term memberships to make online purchases and gain access to roughly 860 Costco warehouse stores in the U.S., Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

The top Costco shareholders are Craig Jelinek, Patrick Callans, Hamilton E. James, Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Corp.

Costco generated operating income of $8.5 billion on revenue of $248.8 billion in the trailing 12-month period to May 2024. The company had a market capitalization of more than $361 billion as of July 2024.

Key Takeaways

• Costco is a major U.S. warehouse retailer with more than 127 million members.
• The company had a market capitalization of more than $361 billion in 2024.
• The top individual Costco shareholders are Craig Jelinek, Patrick Callans, and Hamilton E. James.
• Costco’s top institutional shareholders are Vanguard Group, BlackRock, and State Street Corp.

Top 3 Individual Insider Shareholders

The shares owned by individual insider shareholders are those that are held through direct ownership. Shares mentioned in this section don’t include those that are held indirectly nor shares accessible through stock options. Company insiders must file an SEC Form 4 whenever they buy or sell an amount of the company’s stock that is deemed to be material.

Important

The term “insider” refers to people in senior management positions and members of the board of directors, as well as people or entities that own more than 10% of the company’s stock. It has nothing to do with insider trading in this context.

Craig Jelinek

Craig Jelinek owned 391,535 shares of Costco or about 0.09% of all outstanding shares as of November 2023.

Jelinek stepped down as CEO in January 2024 and stayed on in an advisory role until the spring. Jelinek served as director and president of Costco since 2010 and as CEO since 2012.

Costco achieved steady growth during Jelinek’s nine years at the helm including expanding its operations into China. Costco opened its first store in China in 2019 in Shanghai. Jelinek previously held executive positions at Costco in operations and merchandising beginning in 2004. Jelinek’s early career was in warehouse operations after joining Costco in 1984.

Patrick Callans

Patrick Callans owned 62,895 shares of Costco or roughly 0.01% of all outstanding shares as of March 2024.

Callans is executive vice president of Administration for Costco, a position he’s held since January 2019. Callans was senior vice president of human resources and risk management before that appointment. He first joined Costco as corporate counsel in 1994.

Hamilton E. James

Hamilton James owned 55,592 total Costco shares as of December 2023 with 1,183 of them restricted.

James has served as a director of the company since 1988. He’s Costco’s chairman of the board as of 2024 as well as chairman of Jefferson River Capital, a family-owned investment firm. He served as executive vice chairman of The Blackston Group until 2022 and as its chief operating officer and president from 2002 through 2018.

Top 3 Institutional Shareholders

According to Whale Wisdom, 71 13F filers held Costco stock as of the end of Q2 2024. Eight of them included Costco in their top 10 holdings. Institutional shareholders own about 71.79% of outstanding Costco shares.

Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group owns 40.83 million shares of Costco, representing 9.21% of total shares outstanding, as of March 2024. The company is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company with about $7.8 trillion in global assets under management (AUM) as of September 2023. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) is one of the company’s largest exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with about $1.1 trillion in AUM. Costco made up 0.76% of VOO’s holdings as of May 2024.

BlackRock Inc.

BlackRock owned 32.35 million shares of Costco as of March 2024, representing 7.29% of total shares outstanding. The company is primarily a mutual fund and ETF management company with approximately $10 trillion in AUM. The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) is one of BlackRock’s largest ETFs with approximately $451 billion in AUM. Costco represents 0.78% of IVV’s holdings.

State Street Corp.

State Street owns 18.52 million shares of Costco as of March 2024, representing 4.21% of total shares outstanding. The company is primarily a manager of mutual funds, ETFs, and other assets with approximately $4.34 trillion in AUM. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is one of State Street’s largest ETFs with approximately $511 billion in AUM. Costco represents 0.77% of SPY’s holdings.

What Is Costco’s Share Price?

Costco was trading at about $821 per share on July 31, 2024. Its 52-week range is from about $530 to $896.

How Often Does Costco Pay Dividends?

Costco pays dividends quarterly. The Q3 2024 dividend payment is expected on Aug. 9. The exact date can vary by quarter.

Is Membership Required to Shop at Costco?

Membership isn’t required to shop online but shoppers must pay 5% more for this option and Costco’s online prices are typically higher than its warehouse prices to begin with.

Prescription drug and alcohol purchases can be made by nonmembers in some states where it’s required by law.

The Bottom Line

Costco Wholesale Corp. is a major warehouse retailer in the U.S. and abroad. Membership is required for almost all sales and Costco boasts more than 127 million members. The top Costco individual shareholders are Craig Jelinek, Patrick Callans, and Hamilton E. James as of 2024. Vanguard Group,
BlackRock, and State Street Corp. top the list of Costco’s institutional shareholders. The company’s 12-month trailing net income was $8.5 billion at the close of 2024.

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