416,126 Mission Produce, Inc. $AVO Shares Bought by State Street Corp

Key Points

• State Street increased its Mission Produce stake by 41.3% in the second quarter, buying 416,126 shares to hold 1.42 million shares worth approximately $16.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 63.57% of the company.
• Mission Produce insiders have been net buyers recently, purchasing 2.46 million shares worth $32.5 million over the past 90 days. The company also authorized a $100 million share-repurchase program, covering up to 13.8% of outstanding shares.
• Analyst sentiment remains moderately positive, with a consensus price target of $16.50 versus the stock’s $13.14 opening price, although ratings range from Strong Buy to Sell. The latest quarter beat estimates, with $0.18 EPS and $450 million in revenue, up 25.8% year over year.

State Street Corp lifted its position in Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO - Free Report) by 41.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,423,029 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 416,126 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned approximately 1.62% of Mission Produce worth $16,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Mission Produce by 36.9% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,775,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,300,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286,263 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP boosted its position in Mission Produce by 258.5% during the second quarter. Fourth Sail Capital LP now owns 3,976,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,880,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867,072 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Mission Produce by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,024,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $41,614,000 after acquiring an additional 334,629 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Mission Produce during the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,756,000. Finally, Platform Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Mission Produce in the 4th quarter valued at about $12,130,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.57% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Mission Produce

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 687,222 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $13.42 per share, with a total value of $9,222,519.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 12,370,439 shares in the company, valued at $166,011,291.38. This trade represents a 5.88% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jay A. Pack acquired 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $12.10 per share, for a total transaction of $484,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 579,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,017,576.50. This represents a 7.41% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 2,462,459 shares of company stock valued at $32,451,762 and sold 255,062 shares valued at $3,299,397. 30.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on AVO. Weiss Ratings downgraded Mission Produce from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, September 18th. UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on shares of Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Mission Produce from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of Mission Produce in a report on Thursday, September 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $16.50.

Mission Produce Stock Performance

Shares of AVO stock opened at $13.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 438.15 and a beta of 0.48. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.07 and a 52 week high of $15.53. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $12.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.78.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 8th. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $450.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $367.57 million. Mission Produce had a net margin of 0.12% and a return on equity of 5.91%. The company's revenue was up 25.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Mission Produce announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, June 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Mission Produce Company Profile

Mission Produce, Inc NASDAQ: AVO is an avocado sourcing, production, distribution and marketing company headquartered in Oxnard, California. The company supplies fresh Hass avocados and other avocado varieties to retail, foodservice and wholesale customers, managing activities across the supply chain from growing and procurement to ripening, packing and delivery.

Mission Produce works with avocado growers and operates or manages production and distribution activities in several major growing regions, including Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Brazil and the United States.

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