Empowered Funds LLC Purchases Shares of 3,040 PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 3,905.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 423.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $124,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $89.68 on Friday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.51 and a 52-week high of $99.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $91.57 and a 200-day moving average of $90.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $598,503.64. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.