Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Takes $219,000 Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PSMT. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in PriceSmart in the 4th quarter worth $280,000. James Investment Research Inc. raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 123.1% in the 4th quarter. James Investment Research Inc. now owns 6,422 shares of the company's stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 3,544 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 23,857 shares of the company's stock worth $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in PriceSmart by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 128,191 shares of the company's stock worth $11,815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of PriceSmart by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 10,064 shares of the company's stock worth $928,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 Saturday, May 31st.

PriceSmart Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT traded down $2.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $105.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 201,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,378. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $101.27 and a 200-day moving average of $93.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.23 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.51 and a 12-month high of $109.84.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.34 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In other news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $208,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,145,144. This represents a 15.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Leon C. Janks sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.78, for a total transaction of $305,340.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,433,446.52. This represents a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,836 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,273 in the last three months. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

PriceSmart 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.