Paragon Capital Management LLC Has $17.71 Million Stock Position in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)

Paragon Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,723 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 772 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale comprises about 10.1% of Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Paragon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $17,708,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Clear Investment Research LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Peninsula Wealth LLC now owns 818 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $749,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bosun Asset Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $583,000 after acquiring an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. NFP Retirement Inc. now owns 980 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 3,437 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $3,163,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on COST shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Costco Wholesale from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Loop Capital lowered their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $1,100.00 price objective on shares of Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Mizuho assumed coverage on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $975.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,037.48.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Patrick J. Callans sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,002.77, for a total transaction of $3,008,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 58,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,705,164.11. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 9,547 shares of company stock worth $9,472,510. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

NASDAQ:COST traded down $2.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $950.95. 2,110,863 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,067,122. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.52. Costco Wholesale Corporation has a twelve month low of $793.00 and a twelve month high of $1,078.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $998.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $982.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $421.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.93 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The retailer reported $4.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.04. Costco Wholesale had a return on equity of 30.48% and a net margin of 2.92%. The company had revenue of $63.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Corporation will post 18.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio is 29.50%.

About Costco Wholesale

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.