Headlands Technologies LLC Buys 10,884 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Key Points

• Headlands Technologies LLC significantly increased its position in PriceSmart, Inc. by 7,506.2% during the first quarter, holding 11,029 shares valued at $969,000.
• Other institutional investors also raised their stakes, with Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owning 1,305,698 shares worth $120.3 million after a 0.5% increase.
• PriceSmart recently reported earnings of $1.14 EPS, missing the consensus estimate, but had a 7.1% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 7,506.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,029 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,884 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC's holdings in PriceSmart were worth $969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PSMT. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in PriceSmart by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,305,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $120,345,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 1.8% in the 4th 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. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 25.8% in the 1st quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 782,353 shares of the company's stock worth $68,730,000 after acquiring an additional 160,656 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,915 shares of the company's stock worth $40,140,000 after acquiring an additional 3,039 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.5%

PSMT stock traded up $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $111.88. 134,929 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 235,789. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60 and a beta of 0.77. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.13 and a 52-week high of $113.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by ($0.02). PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 12.46%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.08 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leon C. Janks sold 3,000 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.78, for a total value of $305,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,433,446.52. This trade represents a 8.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total value of $58,470.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 77,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,282,399.48. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,940 shares of company stock valued at $918,525. 17.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.