Hsbc Holdings PLC Trims Holdings in PriceSmart, Inc. $PSMT

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its position in PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ:PSMT) by 31.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,393 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,050 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in PriceSmart were worth $383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth about $591,000. Mariner LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 2,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 354,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,695,000 after acquiring an additional 40,927 shares during the period. Lido Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of PriceSmart during the 4th quarter worth about $260,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PriceSmart by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 62,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,726,000 after acquiring an additional 3,628 shares during the period. 80.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PriceSmart Stock Up 0.6%

PSMT opened at $107.95 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $108.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.03. The company has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77 and a beta of 0.79. PriceSmart, Inc. has a 1 year low of $81.25 and a 1 year high of $114.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a current ratio of 1.28.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.08 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that PriceSmart, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at PriceSmart

In related news, EVP Francisco Velasco sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.31, for a total transaction of $58,470.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 77,908 shares of the company’s stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 17.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of PriceSmart from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd.

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.