Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Raises Stake in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 24.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 489,201 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,598 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $59,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 560.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the third quarter worth $30,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 52.5% in the second quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the third quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 127.5% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of PriceSmart from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, January 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 4,255 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.86, for a total transaction of $582,339.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,317,558.44. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Beatriz V. Infante sold 1,995 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.87, for a total transaction of $273,055.65. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,489,008.73. This represents a 15.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 16,671 shares of company stock worth $2,283,051 over the last quarter. 17.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of PSMT opened at $145.16 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.25 and a 12 month high of $158.01. The company has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.62 and a beta of 0.73.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 7th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 2.79%.The company’s revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PriceSmart Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. This represents a yield of 89.0%. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

About PriceSmart

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.