PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Sold by Black Creek Investment Management Inc.

Black Creek Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,775,131 shares of the company's stock after selling 61,856 shares during the period. PriceSmart comprises approximately 7.7% of Black Creek Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Black Creek Investment Management Inc. owned 5.79% of PriceSmart worth $163,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in PriceSmart by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,230,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,434,000 after acquiring an additional 48,108 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,204,566 shares of the company's stock worth $111,025,000 after purchasing an additional 21,827 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,874,000 after buying an additional 7,994 shares in the last quarter. 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 period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in PriceSmart by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 453,876 shares of the company's stock worth $41,834,000 after acquiring an additional 15,359 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total transaction of $358,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 58,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,213,503.47. The trade was a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,055 shares of company stock valued at $1,833,849. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of PSMT traded up $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $93.64. 170,823 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,939. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company's 50 day moving average is $87.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.87. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.51 and a 52 week high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.