River Road Asset Management LLC Makes New $19.08 Million Investment in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 206,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,078,000. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.68% of PriceSmart at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 227.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,287,000 after acquiring an additional 32,438 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 18.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 47.0% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the 4th quarter worth $5,030,000. Finally, Managed Asset Portfolios LLC raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC now owns 81,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,493,000 after acquiring an additional 11,546 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

PriceSmart Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $87.87 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $90.54 and its 200 day moving average is $90.51. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.51 and a 1 year high of $99.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35 and a beta of 0.84. 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 (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business 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 company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total value of $725,890.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 123,547 shares in the company, valued at $11,182,238.97. This represents a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.67, for a total value of $358,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 58,141 shares in the company, valued at $5,213,503.47. The trade was a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PriceSmart Company 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.