Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Reduces Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH reduced its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 35.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 50,505 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,482 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.16% of PriceSmart worth $5,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart in the first quarter worth about $36,685,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. purchased a new stake in PriceSmart during the 2nd quarter valued at $18,313,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in PriceSmart in the 1st quarter worth $13,109,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 353.9% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 169,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,929,000 after acquiring an additional 132,502 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the second quarter worth about $10,325,000. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.82, for a total value of $67,551.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 80,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,892,905.36. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.10, for a total transaction of $1,151,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 115,615 shares in the company, valued at $13,307,286.50. This trade represents a 7.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 22,460 shares of company stock valued at $2,546,968. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PSMT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of PriceSmart in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, PriceSmart has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PSMT stock opened at $118.58 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $119.36 and its 200 day moving average is $111.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02 and a beta of 0.84. PriceSmart, Inc. has a twelve month low of $81.25 and a twelve month high of $125.48.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.08). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.