Bank of New Hampshire Has $4.37 Million Stake in Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST)

Bank of New Hampshire lifted its holdings in shares of Costco Wholesale Co. (NASDAQ:COST) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,621 shares of the retailer’s stock after buying an additional 62 shares during the quarter. Costco Wholesale comprises approximately 1.2% of Bank of New Hampshire’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Costco Wholesale were worth $4,370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nadler Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Costco Wholesale by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Nadler Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,063 shares of the retailer’s stock worth $2,022,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Lyell Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Lyell Wealth Management LP now owns 26,695 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $17,621,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the period. GHE LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 6,456 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $4,261,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 39,435 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $26,030,000 after purchasing an additional 434 shares during the period. Finally, BIP Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Costco Wholesale by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 906 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $745.00 to $870.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $800.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $680.00 price target on shares of Costco Wholesale in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Costco Wholesale from $795.00 to $805.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Gordon Haskett cut shares of Costco Wholesale from a “buy” rating to an “accumulate” rating and set a $775.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.48.

Costco Wholesale Stock Performance

Shares of COST stock traded up $7.32 on Friday, hitting $729.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 514,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,042,834. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $730.31 and its 200-day moving average is $664.86. Costco Wholesale Co. has a fifty-two week low of $476.75 and a fifty-two week high of $787.08. The company has a market capitalization of $323.39 billion, a PE ratio of 47.62, a PEG ratio of 4.82 and a beta of 0.77.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The retailer reported $3.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.62 by $0.09. Costco Wholesale had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 28.80%. The business had revenue of $58.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $59.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.30 earnings per share. Costco Wholesale’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Costco Wholesale Co. will post 15.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Costco Wholesale Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 26th will be issued a $1.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Costco Wholesale’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 25th. Costco Wholesale’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Costco Wholesale

In other Costco Wholesale news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total value of $1,043,258.16. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Susan L. Decker sold 1,442 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $723.48, for a total transaction of $1,043,258.16. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 12,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,967,534.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claudine Adamo sold 1,500 shares of Costco Wholesale stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $714.83, for a total transaction of $1,072,245.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,695 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,786.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,727 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,948 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.