Vontobel Holding Ltd. Decreases Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Vontobel Holding Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 49.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 88,816 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85,529 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 0.29% of PriceSmart worth $10,764,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 560.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 363 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in PriceSmart in the 1st quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in PriceSmart by 57.2% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gordon H. Hanson sold 851 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $99,941.44. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,768.32. This represents a 10.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO John D. Hildebrandt sold 10,000 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.10, for a total transaction of $1,151,000.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 115,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,307,286.50. The trade was a 7.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,706 shares of company stock valued at $1,467,980 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT opened at $123.98 on Thursday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.25 and a 12 month high of $131.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $122.00 and a 200 day moving average of $114.76.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.08). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 12.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PSMT. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, PriceSmart presently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

PriceSmart Company Profile

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.