Paragon Financial Partners Inc. Sells 50 Shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Paragon Financial Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,696 shares of the retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Costco Wholesale accounts for approximately 1.9% of Paragon Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Paragon Financial Partners Inc.’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $2,471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Costco Wholesale in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,202,000. Beck Bode LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 15,957 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $13,563,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 266,964 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $226,917,000 after buying an additional 18,628 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its position in Costco Wholesale by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 726,332 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $576,044,000 after buying an additional 67,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Costco Wholesale during the 2nd quarter valued at about $264,000. Institutional investors own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

COST stock opened at $942.16 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $950.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $903.04. Costco Wholesale Co. has a twelve month low of $675.96 and a twelve month high of $1,008.25. The firm has a market cap of $418.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.32, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.84.

Costco Wholesale Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 7th will be paid a $1.16 dividend. This represents a $4.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. Costco Wholesale’s payout ratio is 27.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $800.00 to $1,060.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Costco Wholesale from $950.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $880.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Costco Wholesale from $840.00 to $1,040.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $1,013.59.

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.