Raymond James Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. dramatically increased its stake in PriceSmart, Inc. by 794.2%, acquiring a total of 57,343 shares worth approximately $5,038,000.
• The company experienced a minor earnings miss, reporting $1.14 EPS compared to the expected $1.16 EPS, although its revenue increased by 7.1% year-over-year.
• Wall Street analysts downgraded PriceSmart's rating from "buy" to "hold" on August 22nd, reflecting a cautious outlook on the stock's performance.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 794.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 57,343 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,930 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.19% of PriceSmart worth $5,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PSMT. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 119.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 654 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in PriceSmart in the 4th quarter valued at $165,000. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $58,470.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,282,399.48. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday.

PriceSmart Trading Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:PSMT traded up $2.01 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $111.98. The company had a trading volume of 177,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 233,081. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a 50-day moving average of $108.27 and a 200 day moving average of $100.52. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.62 and a beta of 0.79. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.25 and a 1 year high of $114.01.

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

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.