Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 794 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,262 shares of the company’s stock after selling 794 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in PriceSmart by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 131,194 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,525,000 after purchasing an additional 3,003 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 68.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 1,928 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 19.3% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,742 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 522.5% during the first quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 113,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,951,000 after acquiring an additional 95,073 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 7,364.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 69,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,066,000 after acquiring an additional 68,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $110.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.75. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.25 and a 1-year high of $114.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37 and a beta of 0.79.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $58,470.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

About PriceSmart

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.