Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Increases Stake in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 489,201 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,598 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned 1.58% of PriceSmart worth $59,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PSMT. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 7.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,401,706 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,236,000 after purchasing an additional 100,785 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in PriceSmart by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,258,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,489,000 after buying an additional 10,537 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in PriceSmart by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,045,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,872,000 after buying an additional 24,512 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 740,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,812,000 after acquiring an additional 13,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 37.0% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 651,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,955,000 after acquiring an additional 175,806 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PSMT shares. Weiss Ratings cut PriceSmart from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen cut PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, January 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, PriceSmart presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

PriceSmart Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $145.16 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.85. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.25 and a 12 month high of $158.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.62 and a beta of 0.73.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.79% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a dividend yield of 89.0%. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, Director Leon C. Janks sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.29, for a total value of $411,870.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,219,470.86. This represents a 8.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 4,255 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.86, for a total value of $582,339.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 38,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,317,558.44. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,671 shares of company stock worth $2,283,051. 17.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

PriceSmart Profile

PriceSmart, Inc (NASDAQ: PSMT) is a U.S.-based retailer specializing in membership warehouse clubs. Founded in 1993, the company operates under a business model that offers bulk quantities of goods at discounted prices to individuals and businesses that purchase annual memberships. PriceSmart’s value proposition centers on low-cost operations, high-volume purchasing, and a no-frills shopping environment designed to pass savings directly to its members.

The company’s product assortment covers a broad range of merchandise categories, including groceries and fresh produce, household essentials, electronics, appliances, office supplies, furniture, and health and beauty items.