Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Purchases 5,947 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,305,698 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 4.26% of PriceSmart worth $120,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 536.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in PriceSmart by 17,300.0% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 870 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ:PSMT traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $101.91. 30,705 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 259,123. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.51 and a fifty-two week high of $102.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44 and a beta of 0.87.

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

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart's payout ratio is 26.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $161,500.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 896 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.85, for a total transaction of $90,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,340,483.15. This trade represents a 2.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,796 shares of company stock worth $270,866. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

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.