Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $885,000 Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. cut its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $885,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSMT. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 114.4% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 492,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,692,000 after acquiring an additional 263,016 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 4.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,177,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,489,000 after acquiring an additional 133,814 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in PriceSmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,951,000. RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in PriceSmart in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,778,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 905.6% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 40,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,018,000 after acquiring an additional 36,596 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. TheStreet upgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of PriceSmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $80.91 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.82 and a 1-year high of $86.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33 and a beta of 0.92.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a None dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $85,011.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $697,643.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $85,011.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $697,643.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $74,828.82. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,404.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PriceSmart Company Profile

PriceSmart, Inc owns and operates U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia. The company provides basic and private label consumer products under the Member's Selection brand, including groceries, cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids, meat, produce, deli, seafood, and poultry.