State of Alaska Department of Revenue Reduces Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,113 shares of the company’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $1,300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSMT. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 3,905.9% during the fourth 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. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 96.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 423.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $161,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,606,545. The trade was a 9.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the firm’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 value of $50,183.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 79,008 shares in the company, valued at $7,143,903.36. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,962 shares of company stock worth $1,911,398. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PSMT stock opened at $93.55 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $92.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.51 and a 52 week high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.55%.

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.