Swiss National Bank Increases Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,200 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.17% of PriceSmart worth $4,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,818,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,721,000 after acquiring an additional 74,201 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in PriceSmart by 5.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,182,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,552,000 after purchasing an additional 65,492 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in PriceSmart by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 684,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,868,000 after purchasing an additional 25,216 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 29.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 453,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,834,000 after buying an additional 15,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $85.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $89.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.19. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.51 and a 1 year high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. 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 previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total transaction of $725,890.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 123,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,182,238.97. The trade was a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402 over the last three months. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com raised PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 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.