Everence Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Everence Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 10.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 330 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 2.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 2.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,309,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,311,000 after buying an additional 35,390 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 5.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,182,739 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,552,000 after buying an additional 65,492 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 20.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,085,897 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,175,000 after buying an additional 184,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 684,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,868,000 after acquiring an additional 25,216 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

PSMT opened at $92.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.30 and a 12-month high of $99.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $91.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18 and a beta of 0.86.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.22 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.63% and a net margin of 2.83%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 5,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total value of $497,566.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,106.18. This represents a 20.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP David R. Price sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.24, for a total value of $253,660.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,844 shares in the company, valued at $4,505,370.56. This trade represents a 5.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,290 shares of company stock worth $1,476,009. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

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.