Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 3,552 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,407 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,552 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,085,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,175,000 after acquiring an additional 184,252 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in PriceSmart by 18.7% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 481,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,163,000 after purchasing an additional 75,896 shares during the period. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 2.7% in the third quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,818,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,721,000 after purchasing an additional 74,201 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,182,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,552,000 after acquiring an additional 65,492 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 28.9% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 234,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,047,000 after acquiring an additional 52,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $92.17 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 1.22. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.14 and a 52-week high of $99.23. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $91.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.14. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 0.86.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.07). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.63% and a net margin of 2.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David R. Price sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.24, for a total value of $253,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 48,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,505,370.56. This represents a 5.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Michael Mccleary sold 4,000 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.62, for a total value of $358,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,569,076.42. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,290 shares of company stock worth $1,476,009. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart 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.