Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 15,359 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 453,876 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,359 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.48% of PriceSmart worth $41,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 3,905.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 393.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 17,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total value of $725,890.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 123,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,182,238.97. This trade represents a 6.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $161,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,606,545. The trade was a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PSMT stock opened at $83.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $89.79 and a 200-day moving average of $90.35. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.84. 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 one year low of $77.51 and a one year high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About PriceSmart

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.