Foundry Partners LLC Takes Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,557 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PSMT. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in PriceSmart by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,818,927 shares of the company's stock worth $258,721,000 after buying an additional 74,201 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 4.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 7,994 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 29.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 453,876 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,834,000 after buying an additional 15,359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total value 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 approximately $7,143,903.36. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.22, for a total transaction of $96,552.54. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,503.64. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402 in the last ninety days. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PriceSmart Stock Up 6.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT traded up $5.39 during trading on Thursday, hitting $91.18. The stock had a trading volume of 277,448 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,198. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.94. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.51 and a 12 month high of $99.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.09 and a beta of 0.87.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

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

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.