D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Sells 22,109 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. reduced its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 89.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,573 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,109 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PSMT. Boston Partners lifted its position in PriceSmart by 4,690.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 297,655 shares of the company's stock worth $27,344,000 after buying an additional 291,442 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in PriceSmart by 70,410.0% in the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 282,040 shares of the company's stock worth $25,996,000 after buying an additional 281,640 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in PriceSmart in the fourth quarter worth $19,078,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in PriceSmart by 670.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 231,949 shares of the company's stock worth $21,380,000 after buying an additional 201,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in PriceSmart by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 621,697 shares of the company's stock worth $57,302,000 after purchasing an additional 140,515 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.74, for a total transaction of $54,857.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 78,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,825,400.92. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.85, for a total value of $90,361.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,340,483.15. The trade was a 2.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,836 shares of company stock worth $1,005,273. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday.

PriceSmart Trading Up 1.6%

PSMT stock traded up $1.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $108.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 338,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,282. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.66. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.51 and a 1 year high of $108.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 0.75.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

PriceSmart 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.