Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,382 shares of the company’s stock after selling 136 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 93.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $158,000. Watershed Asset Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $268,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 3rd quarter valued at $316,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on PSMT. StockNews.com downgraded PriceSmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, TheStreet raised PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In other news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $74,828.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,404.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $85,011.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $697,643.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $74,828.82. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $636,404.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 18.60% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.8 %

PSMT opened at $81.58 on Wednesday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.82 and a 12 month high of $86.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $81.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.89.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.62%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a None dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.15%.

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.