PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Acquired by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. grew its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 40.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,299 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,315 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of PriceSmart worth $1,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in PriceSmart by 227.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,287,000 after acquiring an additional 32,438 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in PriceSmart by 18.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,627,000 after acquiring an additional 6,137 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in PriceSmart by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 18,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 5,818 shares during the period. Burney Co. acquired a new stake in PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,030,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in PriceSmart by 1.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,873,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Price Performance

NASDAQ PSMT opened at $91.99 on Friday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $74.74 and a 52 week high of $99.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $91.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.62.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at $598,503.64. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.40, for a total transaction of $53,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,279.20. This trade represents a 40.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,725 shares of company stock worth $2,685,625. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

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.