Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $48,000 Stock Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 74.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,519 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $48,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners increased its stake in PriceSmart by 4,690.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 297,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,344,000 after purchasing an additional 291,442 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter valued at about $19,078,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 621,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,302,000 after acquiring an additional 140,515 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,818,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,721,000 after acquiring an additional 74,201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in PriceSmart by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,182,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,552,000 after acquiring an additional 65,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other PriceSmart news, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 8,020 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.51, for a total value of $725,890.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 123,547 shares in the company, valued at $11,182,238.97. The trade was a 6.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total value of $161,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,911 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,606,545. The trade was a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402 in the last three months. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PSMT opened at $88.13 on Wednesday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.51 and a 1 year high of $99.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $88.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.20.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.24 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is 27.75%.

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.