PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Stock Position Lifted by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,230,696 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,108 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 4.01% of PriceSmart worth $113,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 78,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,242,000 after acquiring an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in PriceSmart during the 4th quarter valued at $171,000. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 4,690.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 297,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,344,000 after purchasing an additional 291,442 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 4th quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 6,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 2,285 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

PriceSmart Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $83.71 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.84. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.51 and a 1-year high of $99.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $89.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total value of $50,183.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,143,903.36. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total value of $358,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 58,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,503.47. This represents a 6.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart 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.