Fisher Asset Management LLC Acquires 3,342 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,129 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,342 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 0.09% of PriceSmart worth $2,593,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 16,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 1.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 24,094 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,211,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.0 %

PSMT stock opened at $85.99 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.26. The business’s 50-day moving average is $90.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.47. PriceSmart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.51 and a fifty-two week high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of PriceSmart 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,143,903.36. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total value of $358,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 58,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,503.47. The trade was a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

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.