Royce & Associates LP Trims Stock Position in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 26.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,402 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,789 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $1,624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PSMT. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 10.9% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 20.4% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 601 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 1.5% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in PriceSmart by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other news, Director Leon C. Janks sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.29, for a total transaction of $411,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 30,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,219,470.86. The trade was a 8.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Beatriz V. Infante sold 1,995 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.87, for a total value of $273,055.65. Following the sale, the director owned 10,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,489,008.73. The trade was a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 16,671 shares of company stock worth $2,283,051 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Stock Down 4.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $146.64 on Friday. 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 cap of $4.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $143.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.49. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $81.25 and a 12-month high of $158.01.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported $1.29 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a yield of 89.0%. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

PriceSmart Company 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.