Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST Shares Purchased by Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Costco Wholesale Corporation by 99.1% in Q1, acquiring an additional 323 shares to hold a total of 649 shares valued at approximately $614,000.
• Recent insider transactions included EVP Teresa A. Jones selling 600 Costco shares for about $595,230, while Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares valued at approximately $536,060.
• Costco declared a quarterly dividend of $1.30 per share, with a yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 29.50%.

Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST - Free Report) by 99.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 649 shares of the retailer's stock after buying an additional 323 shares during the quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investment Management Corp VA ADV bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Aspect Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. Aspect Partners LLC now owns 56 shares of the retailer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $58,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Bank & Trust Co grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 20.4% during the 1st quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 65 shares of the retailer's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Costco Wholesale news, EVP Yoram Rubanenko sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $974.96, for a total value of $3,899,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,774 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,629,419.04. This trade represents a 40.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Susan L. Decker sold 547 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $980.00, for a total value of $536,060.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,531 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,300,380. This trade represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,147 shares of company stock valued at $8,039,440. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on COST. Truist Financial increased their price target on Costco Wholesale from $995.00 to $1,042.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $1,035.00 price objective on Costco Wholesale in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,150.00 to $1,225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Costco Wholesale from $1,115.00 to $1,110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Costco Wholesale from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Costco Wholesale has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $1,050.00.

Costco Wholesale Stock Up 0.8%

Costco Wholesale stock traded up $7.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $963.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,926,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,013,209. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $962.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $977.68. 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 52-week low of $867.16 and a 52-week high of $1,078.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $427.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.65, a PEG ratio of 5.36 and a beta of 0.97.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 1st were paid a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 1st. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Costco Wholesale's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.