Teacher Retirement System of Texas Raises Stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 78,572 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.26% of PriceSmart worth $7,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PSMT. Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 4,690.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 297,655 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,344,000 after purchasing an additional 291,442 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth $19,078,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 621,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,302,000 after purchasing an additional 140,515 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 2.7% during the 3rd 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. Finally, FMR LLC boosted 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 worth $108,552,000 after purchasing an additional 65,492 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 58,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,213,503.47. The trade was a 6.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,503.64. This represents a 13.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PriceSmart stock opened at $83.71 on Friday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.51 and a 52 week high of $99.23. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.84.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. PriceSmart’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS 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 paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s payout ratio is 27.75%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.