Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $4.18 Million Stock Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Renaissance Technologies LLC cut its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 34.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,365 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.15% of PriceSmart worth $4,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in PriceSmart by 227.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 32,438 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new position in PriceSmart in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 18,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 5,818 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 8.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 42,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,942,000 after purchasing an additional 3,406 shares during the period. Finally, Foster & Motley Inc. raised its position in PriceSmart by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 18,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 5,315 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PSMT opened at $93.76 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. PriceSmart, Inc. has a one year low of $77.51 and a one year high of $99.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $87.94 and a 200-day moving average of $90.07. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65 and a beta of 0.87.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its 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). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 79,008 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,143,903.36. The trade was a 0.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $161,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,606,545. The trade was a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $1,475,169 in the last three months. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.