11,200 Shares in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT Bought by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 11,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,686,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PSMT. Progeny 3 Inc. acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the third quarter worth about $27,825,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 54.7% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 551,566 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,936,000 after acquiring an additional 194,980 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 821.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 217,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,619,000 after acquiring an additional 193,446 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in PriceSmart by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 651,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,955,000 after acquiring an additional 175,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in PriceSmart by 5,150.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 114,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,929,000 after acquiring an additional 112,747 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, PriceSmart has an average rating of “Buy”.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 2,259 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.17, for a total transaction of $350,529.03. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,264,790.67. The trade was a 21.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.56, for a total transaction of $53,593.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,659 shares in the company, valued at $11,996,491.04. This trade represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,232 shares of company stock worth $504,198 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PSMT opened at $195.29 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.52 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $170.70 and a 200-day moving average of $153.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.52. PriceSmart, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $101.30 and a fifty-two week high of $199.41.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 2.82%.PriceSmart’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.45 earnings per share.

About PriceSmart

PriceSmart, Inc (NASDAQ: PSMT) is a U.S.-based retailer specializing in membership warehouse clubs. Founded in 1993, the company operates under a business model that offers bulk quantities of goods at discounted prices to individuals and businesses that purchase annual memberships. PriceSmart’s value proposition centers on low-cost operations, high-volume purchasing, and a no-frills shopping environment designed to pass savings directly to its members.

The company’s product assortment covers a broad range of merchandise categories, including groceries and fresh produce, household essentials, electronics, appliances, office supplies, furniture, and health and beauty items.