WINTON GROUP Ltd Increases Stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 75.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,586 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,841 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $607,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 3,905.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 393.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in PriceSmart by 17,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in PriceSmart by 49.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In related news, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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. This represents a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.22, for a total transaction of $96,552.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at $598,503.64. The trade was a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402 in the last three months. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 10th.

PriceSmart Stock Down 0.8 %

PSMT stock opened at $86.05 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.51 and a twelve month high of $99.23. The company’s 50 day moving average is $88.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.17.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. PriceSmart’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.75%.

About PriceSmart

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.