Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 200 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in PriceSmart by 2.7% during the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,818,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,721,000 after buying an additional 74,201 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in PriceSmart by 5.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,182,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,552,000 after buying an additional 65,492 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in PriceSmart by 3.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 684,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,868,000 after buying an additional 25,216 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in PriceSmart by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 621,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,302,000 after buying an additional 140,515 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in PriceSmart by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 438,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,247,000 after buying an additional 15,245 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In other news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.22, for a total value of $96,552.54. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,503.64. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $161,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,606,545. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $91.14 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.51 and a 1-year high of $99.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.00.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.55%.

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.