PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Stock Position Lifted by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 287,338 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,103 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.94% of PriceSmart worth $26,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC grew its position in PriceSmart by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the company's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,614 shares of the company's stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in PriceSmart by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in PriceSmart by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in PriceSmart by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,488 shares of the company's stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 580 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $79,279.20. The trade was a 40.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.00, for a total transaction of $465,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,611 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,730,823. This trade represents a 21.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,480 shares of company stock worth $699,096 in the last three months. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PSMT stock traded up $1.82 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $102.08. The stock had a trading volume of 86,363 shares, compared to its average volume of 182,752. 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 market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45 and a beta of 0.87. PriceSmart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.51 and a fifty-two week high of $101.93. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $88.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.18.

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

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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