AQR Capital Management LLC Has $5.73 Million Stock Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,124 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,628 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.20% of PriceSmart worth $5,726,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Lido Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth about $260,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 354,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,695,000 after purchasing an additional 40,927 shares during the period. Nitorum Capital L.P. increased its position in PriceSmart by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Nitorum Capital L.P. now owns 258,617 shares of the company's stock worth $23,837,000 after buying an additional 5,954 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,056,000. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.74, for a total transaction of $54,857.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,458 shares in the company, valued at $7,825,400.92. This represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $161,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,911 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,606,545. This represents a 9.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,346 shares of company stock valued at $325,723 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PSMT stock traded down $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.45. 170,597 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 188,646. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $91.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.97. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 23.01 and a beta of 0.75. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.51 and a 1-year high of $106.55.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.2%. PriceSmart's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.92%.

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.