Royal Bank of Canada Reduces Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 271,151 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,225 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned 0.88% of PriceSmart worth $24,991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,305,698 shares of the company's stock worth $120,345,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,230,696 shares of the company's stock worth $113,434,000 after purchasing an additional 48,108 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,204,566 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,025,000 after acquiring an additional 21,827 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,874,000 after acquiring an additional 7,994 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 621,697 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,302,000 after acquiring an additional 140,515 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th.

PriceSmart Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:PSMT traded up $2.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $107.10. 134,462 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,767. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.16. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.51 and a twelve month high of $108.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59 and a beta of 0.75.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $208,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,145,144. This represents a 15.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.78, for a total value of $40,084.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,279 shares in the company, valued at $953,695.62. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,836 shares of company stock worth $1,005,273 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

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.