AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 3,628 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,124 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,628 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $5,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 536.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in PriceSmart by 393.1% in the 4th 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. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in PriceSmart by 17,300.0% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PSMT opened at $105.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.30 and a beta of 0.75. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.51 and a 12 month high of $106.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.91. 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 (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 1.2%. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.85, for a total transaction of $90,361.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,340,483.15. The trade was a 2.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,606,545. This represents a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,346 shares of company stock valued at $325,723. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.