UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Raises Stock Position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 62,925 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,829 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.21% of PriceSmart worth $5,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of PSMT. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of PriceSmart by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 3,036 shares of the company's stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in PriceSmart by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,614 shares of the company's stock worth $333,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in PriceSmart by 22.8% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,278 shares of the company's stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in PriceSmart by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in PriceSmart by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,383 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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 Trading Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:PSMT traded up $1.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $108.19. The stock had a trading volume of 110,653 shares, compared to its average volume of 193,421. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $99.07 and a 200 day moving average of $93.27. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83 and a beta of 0.81. PriceSmart, Inc. has a one year low of $77.51 and a one year high of $109.19. 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 (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.06). The firm 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%. PriceSmart's quarterly revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.74, for a total value of $54,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 78,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,825,400.92. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.21, for a total value of $306,630.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,011 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,329,854.31. This represents a 18.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,836 shares of company stock valued at $1,005,273 over the last three months. 17.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.