12,056 Shares in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Purchased by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,056 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,111,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PSMT. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 227.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 32,438 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 8.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 42,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,942,000 after buying an additional 3,406 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new position in PriceSmart during the fourth quarter worth about $5,030,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 3,905.9% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,408 shares of the company's stock worth $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 5,829 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PriceSmart Price Performance

NASDAQ:PSMT traded up $1.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $106.52. 148,179 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,369. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $93.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46 and a beta of 0.75. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.51 and a 1-year high of $108.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) 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). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. PriceSmart's revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edgar Zurcher sold 390 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.78, for a total value of $40,084.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 9,279 shares in the company, valued at $953,695.62. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $208,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,145,144. This trade represents a 15.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,836 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,273 over the last three months. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 10th.

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.