Ayrshire Capital Management LLC Has $8.19 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,654 shares of the retailer's stock after selling 731 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for 4.0% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of COST. Investment Management Corp VA ADV acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 35 shares of the retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Costco Wholesale during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale by 22.2% during the 4th quarter. Clear Investment Research LLC now owns 55 shares of the retailer's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total value of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 58,543 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 900 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $922.56, for a total transaction of $830,304.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,987 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,445,926.72. This represents a 11.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,000 shares of company stock worth $10,825,205 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:COST traded down $7.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $995.40. 447,083 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,056,469. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $793.00 and a 12 month high of $1,078.24. The company has a market cap of $441.44 billion, a PE ratio of 58.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $998.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $980.70.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 32.31% and a net margin of 2.93%. The firm had revenue of $63.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.52%. This is an increase from Costco Wholesale's previous quarterly dividend of $1.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 2nd. Costco Wholesale's payout ratio is currently 29.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $940.00 to $980.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $1,065.00 to $1,070.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Costco Wholesale has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,035.32.

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.