Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Buys New Shares in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,831 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in PriceSmart by 536.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 312 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in PriceSmart during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in PriceSmart by 393.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in PriceSmart by 17,300.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 870 shares of the company's stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at about $165,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.46% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at PriceSmart

In other news, Director Jeffrey Fisher sold 2,000 shares of PriceSmart stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $1,145,144. This trade represents a 15.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.74, for a total transaction of $54,857.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,458 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,825,400.92. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,836 shares of company stock worth $1,005,273. Corporate insiders own 17.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 31st.

PriceSmart Stock Down 1.9%

PSMT traded down $2.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $101.76. The company had a trading volume of 178,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,514. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. PriceSmart, Inc. has a one year low of $77.65 and a one year high of $109.84. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $102.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.18.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.51 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.34 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current 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.