Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Trims Stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lessened its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,151 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,552 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $2,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $19,078,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in PriceSmart by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 621,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,302,000 after purchasing an additional 140,515 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in PriceSmart by 2.7% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,818,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,721,000 after purchasing an additional 74,201 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 65,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burney Co. acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,030,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $84.47 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.30. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.51 and a 1-year high of $99.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 18.61 and a beta of 0.84.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In related news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the firm’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 sale, the director now owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at $598,503.64. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total transaction of $50,183.10. Following the transaction, 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 90 days, insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.