PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Bought by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 33.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,858 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,305,698 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,345,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,230,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,434,000 after buying an additional 48,108 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in PriceSmart by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,204,566 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,025,000 after acquiring an additional 21,827 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in PriceSmart by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 692,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,874,000 after acquiring an additional 7,994 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 453,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,834,000 after acquiring an additional 15,359 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 31st.

PriceSmart Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ PSMT opened at $105.45 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 0.81. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.65 and a 12 month high of $109.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.27 and a 200-day moving average of $93.94.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. PriceSmart’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other PriceSmart news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.74, for a total value of $54,857.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,458 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,825,400.92. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $208,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,145,144. This represents a 15.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,836 shares of company stock worth $1,005,273. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

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.