Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 318 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,629 shares of the company’s stock after selling 318 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $1,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 235.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 3,404 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 93.1% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 0.7% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 94,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,060,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 18.1% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWC Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the third quarter valued at about $4,778,000. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PSMT. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of PriceSmart from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of PriceSmart from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 13th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of PriceSmart from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total value of $85,011.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $697,643.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total value of $74,828.82. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,404.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.08, for a total transaction of $85,011.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $697,643.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 18.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $81.49 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $81.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.06. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.82 and a 52 week high of $86.90.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 11.85%. PriceSmart’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.15%.

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.