Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,519 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 74.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,519 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $48,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PSMT. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 227.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 32,438 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 18.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,627,000 after buying an additional 6,137 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,030,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in PriceSmart by 47.0% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 18,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after acquiring an additional 5,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 53,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,873,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $161,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,606,545. This represents a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 580 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.40, for a total value of $53,592.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $79,279.20. This represents a 40.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402 over the last 90 days. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

PriceSmart Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $88.13 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $88.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.20. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.51 and a twelve month high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business 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%.

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.