PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) Shares Acquired by West Oak Capital LLC

West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 48,368.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,964 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,929 shares during the quarter. West Oak Capital LLC owned 0.06% of PriceSmart worth $1,564,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in PriceSmart during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of PriceSmart by 96.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 423.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.46% of the company’s stock.

PriceSmart Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PSMT traded down $4.20 on Friday, reaching $89.25. 485,408 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 263,651. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1-year low of $74.74 and a 1-year high of $99.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.47 and a 200-day moving average of $88.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53 and a beta of 0.86.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 8th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.24 billion. PriceSmart had a net margin of 2.83% and a return on equity of 12.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, EVP David R. Price sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.24, for a total transaction of $253,660.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 48,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,505,370.56. This trade represents a 5.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Paul Kovaleski sold 3,235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.96, for a total transaction of $291,020.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,986,037.64. The trade was a 6.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,463 shares of company stock valued at $1,400,727 in the last 90 days. 17.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of PriceSmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 30th.

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.