Advisors Asset Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. $FDP

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 114.3%, holding 15,895 shares valued at approximately $490,000 as per its latest SEC filing.
• Fresh Del Monte Produce reported earnings of $1.23 per share in its last quarterly results, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.95, with revenues also exceeding estimates at $1.18 billion.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, translating to a 3.4% dividend yield, as it maintains a dividend payout ratio of 38.46%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. (NYSE:FDP - Free Report) by 114.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,895 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,477 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce were worth $490,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 36,004 shares of the company's stock worth $1,110,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,688 shares of the company's stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,211 shares of the company's stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:FDP traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $35.68. The stock had a trading volume of 239,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 287,584. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.50 and a 1-year high of $40.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.34. The company has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.43.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.28. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a net margin of 3.49% and a return on equity of 6.84%. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. Fresh Del Monte Produce's revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Fresh Del Monte Produce's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gianpaolo Renino sold 12,192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.53, for a total transaction of $445,373.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,786.41. This represents a 79.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ghazaleh Mohammad Abu sold 7,575 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.61, for a total value of $277,320.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,040,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,543,029.02. This trade represents a 0.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,039 shares of company stock worth $5,010,709 over the last three months. Insiders own 31.60% of the company's stock.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Company Profile

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc, through its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Fresh and Value-Added Products, Banana, and Other Products and Services.