Ameriprise Financial Inc. Reduces Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,317 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,255 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.62% of PriceSmart worth $17,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,305,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,345,000 after buying an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in PriceSmart by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,230,696 shares of the company's stock worth $113,434,000 after acquiring an additional 48,108 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in PriceSmart by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,204,566 shares of the company's stock worth $111,025,000 after acquiring an additional 21,827 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.2% in the 4th 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 stake in shares of PriceSmart by 29.2% during the 4th 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 owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

PriceSmart Trading Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:PSMT traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $103.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,780 shares, compared to its average volume of 190,331. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $94.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.51 and a twelve month high of $108.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.80 and a beta of 0.75.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue 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.

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.