2,346 Shares in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Acquired by Cibc World Markets Corp

Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in PriceSmart by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in PriceSmart by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 0.6% during the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $85.92 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.93 and a beta of 0.84. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.51 and a 52-week high of $99.23. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.15.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 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 business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total value of $50,183.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,008 shares in the company, valued at $7,143,903.36. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,606,545. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

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.