Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Buys Shares of 23,049 PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 23,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,124,000.

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

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of PSMT opened at $86.72 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10 and a beta of 0.84.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm 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 company posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s payout ratio is presently 27.75%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In related news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $161,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,606,545. The trade was a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total transaction of $50,183.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,008 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,143,903.36. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,162 shares of company stock worth $1,930,402. 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.