Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,300 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,685 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.10% of PriceSmart worth $2,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 453,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,834,000 after acquiring an additional 15,359 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 393.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,593,000 after acquiring an additional 3,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 17,300.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

PriceSmart Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $83.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.84. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.51 and a twelve month high of $99.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $89.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total value of $50,183.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,143,903.36. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.22, for a total transaction of $96,552.54. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.