PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,827 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 5.1% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $318,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 2.5% during the third quarter. Wittenberg Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 9,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $712,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. TheStreet raised PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, StockNews.com cut PriceSmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In related news, Director Sherry S. Bahrambeygui sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value of $120,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 98,508 shares in the company, valued at $7,931,864.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sherry S. Bahrambeygui sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.52, for a total value of $120,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 98,508 shares in the company, valued at $7,931,864.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total value of $85,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $697,643.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,458 shares of company stock valued at $1,429,315. 18.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PriceSmart Price Performance

NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $82.46 on Friday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a one year low of $61.82 and a one year high of $86.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.33.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.15%.

About PriceSmart

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.