Copeland Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 621,697 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 140,515 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned 2.03% of PriceSmart worth $57,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in PriceSmart by 3,905.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in PriceSmart by 96.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 66.7% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 423.1% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $92.34. The company had a trading volume of 75,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,247. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $74.74 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $91.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.70.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 5,478 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total transaction of $497,566.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,966,106.18. This represents a 20.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 580 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.40, for a total transaction of $53,592.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $79,279.20. The trade was a 40.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,975 shares of company stock valued at $2,431,965. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.