AQR Capital Management LLC Increases Stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 179.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,052 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 36,614 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of PriceSmart worth $4,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSMT. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 94.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 8,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 4,067 shares in the last quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new stake in PriceSmart during the second quarter valued at about $867,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the second quarter valued at about $255,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 7.8% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,367 shares of the company's stock worth $4,496,000 after buying an additional 4,028 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 39.6% in 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. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sherry S. Bahrambeygui sold 2,641 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.81, for a total transaction of $237,188.21. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 47,575 shares in the company, valued at $4,272,710.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other PriceSmart news, Director Sherry S. Bahrambeygui sold 2,641 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.81, for a total transaction of $237,188.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,272,710.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sherry S. Bahrambeygui sold 9,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.37, for a total value of $801,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 61,216 shares in the company, valued at $5,164,793.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,904 shares of company stock worth $1,806,714. Company insiders own 18.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised PriceSmart from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th.

PriceSmart Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT traded up $3.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 112,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 137,553. The stock has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49 and a beta of 0.84. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.82 and a 12 month high of $93.18. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $87.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.20.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.07. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 11.89%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.