Copeland Capital Management LLC Purchases 140,515 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 29.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 621,697 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 140,515 shares during the quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC owned about 2.03% of PriceSmart worth $57,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PSMT. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 39.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 30,423 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,470,000 after acquiring an additional 8,633 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in PriceSmart by 94.2% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 8,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after buying an additional 4,067 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in PriceSmart by 179.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,633,000 after buying an additional 36,614 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in PriceSmart by 10.8% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 84,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,889,000 after buying an additional 8,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in PriceSmart by 2.8% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 13,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP David R. Price sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.24, for a total transaction of $253,660.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 48,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,505,370.56. This trade represents a 5.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 5,478 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total value of $497,566.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,646 shares in the company, valued at $1,966,106.18. This trade represents a 20.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,725 shares of company stock worth $2,685,625. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

PSMT stock opened at $90.97 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $91.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.67. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $74.74 and a twelve month high of $99.23. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04 and a beta of 0.86.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The business had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday.

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.