PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Purchased by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 46.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,149 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,589 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in PriceSmart by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,230,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,434,000 after buying an additional 48,108 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,204,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,025,000 after acquiring an additional 21,827 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,874,000 after acquiring an additional 7,994 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 621,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,302,000 after acquiring an additional 140,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 453,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,834,000 after purchasing an additional 15,359 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,730,823. This trade represents a 21.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total transaction of $50,183.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 79,008 shares in the company, valued at $7,143,903.36. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,055 shares of company stock valued at $1,833,849. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $93.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $87.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.06. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.51 and a twelve month high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s payout ratio is 26.92%.

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.