Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) Stake Raised by Ayrshire Capital Management LLC

Ayrshire Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,385 shares of the retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale accounts for 4.2% of Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Ayrshire Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $8,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,487,057 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,380,648,000 after purchasing an additional 162,191 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,308,615 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $8,252,274,000 after buying an additional 324,973 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Costco Wholesale by 113,947.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 7,370,916 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $6,534,464,000 after buying an additional 7,364,453 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,650,562 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $3,102,941,000 after buying an additional 88,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Costco Wholesale by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,399,127 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,013,394,000 after acquiring an additional 125,444 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on COST. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $909.00 to $935.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,005.00 to $1,095.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,075.00 to $1,175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

Insider Activity at Costco Wholesale

In related news, EVP Richard A. Galanti sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $894.68, for a total transaction of $1,266,866.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,514,232. This represents a 4.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Costco Wholesale stock opened at $917.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $407.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.84. Costco Wholesale Co. has a 12 month low of $675.96 and a 12 month high of $1,008.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $949.23 and its 200-day moving average is $900.20.

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.