Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 38.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 326 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 443,747 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $393,391,000 after purchasing an additional 6,495 shares during the period. United Bank raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 5,962 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $5,285,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the period. Arvest Investments Inc. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arvest Investments Inc. now owns 316 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $1,629,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Costco Wholesale in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,228,000. 68.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Costco Wholesale Price Performance

Shares of COST opened at $934.41 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $414.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.15 and a beta of 0.82. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $697.27 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $989.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $944.28.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 6th. The retailer reported $4.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.07). Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 32.31%. The firm had revenue of $63.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $63.02 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 18.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 7th were paid a dividend of $1.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 7th. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is currently 27.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on COST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $900.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,075.00 target price (up from $980.00) on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 target price on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,030.43.

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.