Redwood Investments LLC Buys 7,857 Shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT)

Redwood Investments LLC boosted its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT - Free Report) by 46.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,885 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,857 shares during the quarter. Redwood Investments LLC owned approximately 0.08% of PriceSmart worth $2,294,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 227.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 46,710 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,287,000 after purchasing an additional 32,438 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 8.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 42,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,942,000 after purchasing an additional 3,406 shares in the last quarter. Burney Co. acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart in the fourth quarter valued at $5,030,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 3,905.9% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 681 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of PriceSmart by 76.9% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 13,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,236,000 after purchasing an additional 5,829 shares in the last quarter. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PriceSmart Price Performance

PriceSmart stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $104.71. 177,560 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,538. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.73 and a 200 day moving average of $91.41. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.51 and a 1-year high of $108.01. The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06 and a beta of 0.75.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 9th. The company reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.06). PriceSmart had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 2.76%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded PriceSmart from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.74, for a total value of $54,857.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 78,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,825,400.92. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 896 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.85, for a total value of $90,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,340,483.15. This trade represents a 2.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,836 shares of company stock worth $1,005,273 over the last three months. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.