PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT Shares Acquired by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. by 2.5% during the second quarter, owning 116,131 shares valued at approximately $12.2 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their holdings significantly, with American Century Companies Inc. growing its position by 5.7% and Copeland Capital Management LLC by 25.8% during the first quarter.
• Wall Street Zen upgraded PriceSmart's rating from "hold" to "buy," suggesting a positive outlook on the company's performance.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 116,131 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,863 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.38% of PriceSmart worth $12,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 5.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,300,921 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,286,000 after purchasing an additional 70,225 shares in the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 25.8% in the first quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 782,353 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,730,000 after purchasing an additional 160,656 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 0.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,915 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,140,000 after purchasing an additional 3,039 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the first quarter valued at approximately $36,685,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 2.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 362,018 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,803,000 after purchasing an additional 7,298 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th.

Insider Activity at PriceSmart

In other news, 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 transaction of $58,470.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. The trade was a 0.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.62, for a total transaction of $1,078,987.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 47,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,208,210.84. This represents a 17.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

PriceSmart Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of PriceSmart stock opened at $117.10 on Tuesday. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.25 and a 52-week high of $120.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $109.22 and a 200 day moving average of $101.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.70 and a beta of 0.79.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.31 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 2.82%.The firm's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.08 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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