PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Acquired by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,537 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $1,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in PriceSmart by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 621,697 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,302,000 after buying an additional 140,515 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 2.7% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,818,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,721,000 after acquiring an additional 74,201 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in PriceSmart by 5.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,182,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,552,000 after purchasing an additional 65,492 shares during the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in PriceSmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 227.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 32,438 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PSMT opened at $91.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.19 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.89 and a 200-day moving average of $89.75. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.51 and a 1-year high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total transaction of $725,890.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 123,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,182,238.97. This represents a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,008 shares in the company, valued at $7,143,903.36. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,497 shares of company stock worth $1,934,398. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.