Fmr LLC Buys 65,492 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

FMR LLC increased its position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,182,739 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 65,492 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 3.85% of PriceSmart worth $108,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 2,744,726 shares of the company's stock worth $222,872,000 after purchasing an additional 31,263 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 2.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,309,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,311,000 after acquiring an additional 35,390 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 20.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,085,897 shares of the company's stock worth $88,175,000 after purchasing an additional 184,252 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of PriceSmart by 18.7% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 481,182 shares of the company's stock worth $44,163,000 after purchasing an additional 75,896 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 438,517 shares of the company's stock worth $40,247,000 after purchasing an additional 15,245 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock traded down $1.45 during trading on Thursday, hitting $89.67. The stock had a trading volume of 274,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,230. The firm has a market cap of $2.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business's 50-day moving average is $90.22 and its 200 day moving average is $86.64. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $68.71 and a 12 month high of $94.82.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by ($0.07). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. PriceSmart's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 827 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.03, for a total value of $75,281.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 84,385 shares in the company, valued at $7,681,566.55. This represents a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 3,235 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.96, for a total transaction of $291,020.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,986,037.64. This represents a 6.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,290 shares of company stock worth $1,476,009 over the last ninety days. 18.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th.

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.