Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 326 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,657 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 227.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 32,438 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 18.4% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 39,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,627,000 after buying an additional 6,137 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 47.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 18,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,677,000 after buying an additional 5,818 shares during the period. Burney Co. bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,030,000. Finally, Managed Asset Portfolios LLC lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 16.5% in the third quarter. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC now owns 81,635 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,493,000 after acquiring an additional 11,546 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.42, for a total value of $50,183.10. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 79,008 shares in the company, valued at $7,143,903.36. This trade represents a 0.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 1,107 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.22, for a total value of $96,552.54. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,503.64. This trade represents a 13.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,162 shares of company stock valued at $1,930,402 in the last quarter. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PSMT stock opened at $83.71 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.21. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.51 and a 12-month high of $99.23.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.24 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

PriceSmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. PriceSmart’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.75%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

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.