PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Holdings Lifted by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 165.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,542 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,072 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $1,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 114.4% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 492,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,692,000 after purchasing an additional 263,016 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,177,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,489,000 after buying an additional 133,814 shares in the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,951,000. Fourth Sail Capital LP bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,738,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 905.6% during 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 period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 8,822 shares in the company, valued at $697,643.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $74,828.82. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,404.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total value of $85,011.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $697,643.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,458 shares of company stock worth $1,429,315 over the last ninety days. 18.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

PriceSmart Price Performance

NASDAQ PSMT opened at $85.76 on Thursday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.82 and a 1 year high of $86.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $82.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.20.

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

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.15%.

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.