Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 678 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 4.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,864 shares of the company’s stock after selling 678 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in PriceSmart by 30,300.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 909 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in PriceSmart by 331.4% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in PriceSmart in the third quarter worth $158,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in PriceSmart in the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in PriceSmart in the fourth quarter worth $272,000. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.3 %

PriceSmart stock opened at $80.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.49. PriceSmart, Inc. has a one year low of $61.82 and a one year high of $87.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average is $82.55 and its 200 day moving average is $80.01.

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

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 1,176 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.72, for a total transaction of $96,102.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,673,314. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 1,176 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.72, for a total transaction of $96,102.72. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,950 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,673,314. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.92, for a total value of $491,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 140,485 shares in the company, valued at $11,508,531.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,200 shares of company stock valued at $2,260,293 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PSMT. StockNews.com raised PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th.

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.