Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 11,255 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,317 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,255 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.62% of PriceSmart worth $17,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,458 shares in the company, valued at $7,825,400.92. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 390 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.78, for a total value of $40,084.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,279 shares in the company, valued at $953,695.62. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,836 shares of company stock worth $1,005,273. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $107.33. The company's stock had a trading volume of 185,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,349. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $93.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64 and a beta of 0.75. PriceSmart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.51 and a fifty-two week high of $108.01.

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 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. The company's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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.