PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT Shares Sold by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH cut its PriceSmart stake by 83.4%, selling 25,298 shares in Q4 and retaining 5,020 shares worth about $616,000.
• PriceSmart beat estimates for the quarter with EPS of $1.62 vs. $1.57 expected and revenue of $1.50 billion, up 9.7% year-over-year.
• The company declared a $0.70 dividend payable Aug. 31 (record Aug. 17); institutional investors own about 80.46% of the stock while insiders hold roughly 17%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lowered its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 83.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,020 shares of the company's stock after selling 25,298 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in PriceSmart were worth $616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,258,234 shares of the company's stock worth $152,489,000 after buying an additional 10,537 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,045,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $109,872,000 after purchasing an additional 24,512 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 651,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $78,955,000 after purchasing an additional 175,806 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 624,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $75,742,000 after purchasing an additional 73,419 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 24.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 489,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,286,000 after purchasing an additional 97,598 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PSMT. Wall Street Zen downgraded PriceSmart from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, January 11th. Weiss Ratings downgraded PriceSmart from a "buy (a-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy".

PriceSmart Trading Down 3.2%

PriceSmart stock opened at $153.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The company has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.20 and a beta of 0.77. PriceSmart, Inc. has a one year low of $99.14 and a one year high of $165.46. The company's fifty day moving average price is $152.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.16.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 2.82%.The firm's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 89.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. PriceSmart's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 635 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.60, for a total value of $100,076.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,149 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,284,282.40. This trade represents a 7.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

PriceSmart Company Profile

PriceSmart, Inc NASDAQ: PSMT is a U.S.-based retailer specializing in membership warehouse clubs. Founded in 1993, the company operates under a business model that offers bulk quantities of goods at discounted prices to individuals and businesses that purchase annual memberships. PriceSmart's value proposition centers on low-cost operations, high-volume purchasing, and a no-frills shopping environment designed to pass savings directly to its members.

The company's product assortment covers a broad range of merchandise categories, including groceries and fresh produce, household essentials, electronics, appliances, office supplies, furniture, and health and beauty items.

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