Royal Bank of Canada Lowers Stock Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,468 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,683 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.85% of PriceSmart worth $22,882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 1st quarter worth approximately $49,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in PriceSmart by 119.7% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 635 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,908 shares in the company, valued at $8,282,399.48. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael Mccleary sold 9,754 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.62, for a total transaction of $1,078,987.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 47,082 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,208,210.84. The trade was a 17.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

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 Friday, September 5th.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of PriceSmart stock traded down $3.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $114.58. 352,502 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 195,694. The stock has a market cap of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.28. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $108.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.24. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.25 and a 12 month high of $120.99.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.16 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.46% and a net margin of 2.82%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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.