Royce & Associates LP Decreases Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Royce & Associates LP cut its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,922 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,172 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.07% of PriceSmart worth $1,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position 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 worth $63,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 393.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted 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 period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 49.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,159 shares of the company's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,143,903.36. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at $598,503.64. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PriceSmart Stock Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ PSMT traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $85.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 173,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,061. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $89.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.51 and a twelve month high of $99.23.

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

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart's payout ratio is 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.