LSV Asset Management Sells 13,799 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management reduced its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. by 6.2%, selling 13,799 shares and owning approximately 0.68% of the company valued at $18.4 million.
• Institutional investors collectively own 80.46% of PriceSmart, with First Horizon Advisors Inc. and Sterling Capital Management increasing their positions significantly in recent quarters.
• PriceSmart's stock recently traded down 1.7%, with a current price of $109.04, after the company reported earnings per share of $1.14, missing estimates by $0.02 for the quarter.

LSV Asset Management lessened its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,853 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,799 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.68% of PriceSmart worth $18,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 536.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 119.7% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 635 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 654 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 390 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.78, for a total transaction of $40,084.20. Following the transaction, the director owned 9,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $953,695.62. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.21, for a total transaction of $306,630.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,329,854.31. The trade was a 18.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,940 shares of company stock worth $918,525 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

PriceSmart stock traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $111.96. 63,073 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 240,079. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.13 and a twelve month high of $113.59. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $106.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.79.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 2.82%. The firm's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th.

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.