Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 456 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,827 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $947,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the fourth quarter worth approximately $272,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 11,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $903,000 after purchasing an additional 654 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 51.8% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $580,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 12,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PSMT stock opened at $82.46 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.00 and a 200 day moving average of $76.33. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.82 and a 52 week high of $86.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72 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.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 10th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 2.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,822 shares in the company, valued at $697,643.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.86, for a total transaction of $74,828.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,969 shares in the company, valued at $636,404.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 1,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $697,643.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,458 shares of company stock worth $1,429,315 over the last three months. 18.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.