PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Acquired by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 29.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,300 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,685 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $2,701,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 3,905.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded 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, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total value of $358,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 58,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,213,503.47. This trade represents a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $598,503.64. This represents a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Stock Up 1.4 %

PriceSmart stock opened at $83.53 on Monday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.51 and a fifty-two week high of $99.23. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $89.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.84.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders 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 is presently 27.75%.

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.