Boston Partners Increases Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Boston Partners grew its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 4,690.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 297,655 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 291,442 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in PriceSmart were worth $27,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 54.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 6,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 2,285 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 51,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,719,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 4,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth about $19,078,000. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, 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 value of $96,552.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,503.64. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $85.25 on Thursday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.51 and a 12-month high of $99.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.26.

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

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

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

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.