Amundi Boosts Stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Amundi lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 185.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,644 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,217 shares during the quarter. Amundi's holdings in PriceSmart were worth $1,182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 3,905.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 393.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 17,300.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 870 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,159 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total value of $725,890.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 123,547 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,182,238.97. This represents a 6.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $161,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,606,545. This trade represents a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402. Insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PSMT traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $84.78. 51,597 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 162,493. 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 quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $89.34 and a 200-day moving average of $90.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66 and a beta of 0.84.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart's payout ratio is 27.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

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.