PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT Stock Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 30.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 190,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 82,041 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $32,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PSMT. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 26.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 416,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,372,000 after buying an additional 86,452 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in PriceSmart during the third quarter valued at approximately $284,000. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in PriceSmart by 41.3% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 54.5% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 5,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $966,000 after buying an additional 2,015 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor LLC increased its holdings in PriceSmart by 48.7% during the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor LLC now owns 18,873 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,192,000 after buying an additional 6,177 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.77. 107,113 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 239,342. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52 week low of $114.43 and a 52 week high of $199.84. The firm has a market cap of $5.10 billion, a PE ratio of 30.51 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $168.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.46 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.15% and a net margin of 2.83%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.02 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of PriceSmart in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $198.00 price objective on shares of PriceSmart in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat, PriceSmart has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $198.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 338 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.87, for a total transaction of $60,120.06. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 75,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,397,346.27. The trade was a 0.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 11,834 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.23, for a total transaction of $1,990,833.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 101,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,108,822.77. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 17.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About PriceSmart

PriceSmart, Inc. operates membership warehouse clubs serving customers in Central America, the Caribbean and parts of South America. Its clubs offer a range of products and services, combining bulk-value shopping with locally relevant merchandise. Products include groceries and fresh foods, household goods, electronics, appliances, clothing and other consumer products. Depending on the location, clubs also offer services such as food courts, bakeries, pharmacies, optical centers and fuel. PriceSmart was founded by Sol and Robert Price, who previously helped build the Price Club warehouse-club business.