Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,908 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,360 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,908 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $11,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSMT. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 20.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,085,897 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,175,000 after acquiring an additional 184,252 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 18.7% in the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 481,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,163,000 after purchasing an additional 75,896 shares in the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,818,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,721,000 after acquiring an additional 74,201 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in PriceSmart by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,182,739 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,552,000 after acquiring an additional 65,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 28.9% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 234,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,047,000 after acquiring an additional 52,600 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 5,478 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total value of $497,566.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,106.18. This trade represents a 20.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 3,235 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.96, for a total transaction of $291,020.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,309 shares in the company, valued at $3,986,037.64. The trade was a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,290 shares of company stock valued at $1,476,009 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of PSMT opened at $92.99 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.86. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.14 and a 12-month high of $99.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.22 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Company 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.