Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,129 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,342 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of PriceSmart worth $2,593,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position 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 valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter valued at about $654,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 128,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,815,000 after acquiring an additional 2,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in PriceSmart by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 23,857 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,199,000 after buying an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company's stock.

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PriceSmart Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ PSMT traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $88.82. The company had a trading volume of 243,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 231,611. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $90.54 and a 200 day moving average of $90.44. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.51 and a 1-year high of $99.23. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 0.84.

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

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PriceSmart news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,911 shares in the company, valued at $1,606,545. This represents a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,008 shares in the company, valued at $7,143,903.36. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402 over the last three months. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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