Cwm LLC Boosts Stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Cwm LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 331.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,044 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 802 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $79,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,177,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,489,000 after purchasing an additional 133,814 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 114.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 492,976 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,692,000 after acquiring an additional 263,016 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 392,529 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,216,000 after acquiring an additional 11,470 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 293,127 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,817,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 178,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,319,000 after purchasing an additional 1,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PSMT opened at $84.72 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $82.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.53. PriceSmart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.82 and a fifty-two week high of $86.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 0.92.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.62%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PSMT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TheStreet raised PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered PriceSmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, Director Sherry S. Bahrambeygui sold 1,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total transaction of $130,274.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 91,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,617,006.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $85,011.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,822 shares in the company, valued at $697,643.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sherry S. Bahrambeygui sold 1,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.03, for a total transaction of $130,274.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 91,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,617,006.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,458 shares of company stock worth $1,429,315. Insiders own 18.60% 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.