PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Purchased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 44.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,553 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSMT. Barclays PLC raised its position 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $591,000. Foster & Motley Inc. raised its position in PriceSmart by 40.9% in the fourth quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 18,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 5,315 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $19,078,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $280,000. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.85, for a total transaction of $90,361.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,340,483.15. This represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.21, for a total value of $306,630.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,011 shares in the company, valued at $1,329,854.31. This represents a 18.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,836 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,273. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $104.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.51 and a 52-week high of $108.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.05.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th.

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.