PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Acquired by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 40.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,299 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,315 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $1,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 227.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 32,438 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,627,000 after acquiring an additional 6,137 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 47.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 18,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 5,818 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,873,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PriceSmart news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.40, for a total value of $53,592.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 858 shares in the company, valued at $79,279.20. This represents a 40.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $7,143,903.36. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,725 shares of company stock worth $2,685,625 in the last quarter. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th.

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $91.99 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.86. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.74 and a 52 week high of $99.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.62.

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

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.