Empowered Funds LLC Buys New Shares in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,040 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PSMT. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 423.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 49.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,159 shares of the company's stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $124,000. 80.46% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PriceSmart Price Performance

NASDAQ PSMT traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $89.68. The company had a trading volume of 258,616 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,370. The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.85. The company's fifty day moving average price is $91.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $90.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.51 and a 12-month high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during 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%. PriceSmart's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of PriceSmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,008 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,143,903.36. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.22, for a total value of $96,552.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $598,503.64. This trade represents a 13.89 % 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 valued at $1,930,402. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

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.