Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $152.49 Million Stock Position in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 0.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,258,234 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,537 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 4.07% of PriceSmart worth $152,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in PriceSmart by 124.2% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,310,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 182,919 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,069,000 after buying an additional 53,874 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 12.3% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 70,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,206,000 after acquiring an additional 7,717 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in PriceSmart by 34.7% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 18,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,806 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 4,255 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.86, for a total transaction of $582,339.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 38,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,317,558.44. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 7,421 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.88, for a total value of $1,015,786.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 108,194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,809,594.72. This represents a 6.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 16,671 shares of company stock worth $2,283,051 in the last ninety days. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, PriceSmart has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

PriceSmart Trading Down 0.8%

PriceSmart stock opened at $147.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.12 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.55. PriceSmart, Inc. has a one year low of $81.25 and a one year high of $158.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $144.99 and a 200-day moving average of $128.53.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 2.79%.The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.21 earnings per share. PriceSmart’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 89.0%. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

About PriceSmart

PriceSmart, Inc (NASDAQ: PSMT) is a U.S.-based retailer specializing in membership warehouse clubs. Founded in 1993, the company operates under a business model that offers bulk quantities of goods at discounted prices to individuals and businesses that purchase annual memberships. PriceSmart’s value proposition centers on low-cost operations, high-volume purchasing, and a no-frills shopping environment designed to pass savings directly to its members.

The company’s product assortment covers a broad range of merchandise categories, including groceries and fresh produce, household essentials, electronics, appliances, office supplies, furniture, and health and beauty items.