US Bancorp DE Boosts Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

US Bancorp DE increased its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,614 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 28,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,593,000 after acquiring an additional 3,342 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 17,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in PriceSmart in the fourth quarter worth about $654,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 128,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PriceSmart news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total transaction of $725,890.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 123,547 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,182,238.97. The trade was a 6.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the company’s 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 owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at $598,503.64. This represents a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $82.40 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $90.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.45. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.51 and a 52 week high of $99.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 0.84.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. PriceSmart’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s 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.