Sylvest Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. $FDP

Key Points

• Sylvest Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce, purchasing 22,939 shares valued at approximately $744,000 in the second quarter.
• Wall Street analysts downgraded Fresh Del Monte Produce from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating, indicating a shift in market sentiment.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.30 per share, reflecting a 3.4% annualized yield with a dividend payout ratio of 38.46%.

Sylvest Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. (NYSE:FDP - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 22,939 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDP. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 81.0% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 5,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the first quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the first quarter valued at approximately $247,000. 64.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut Fresh Del Monte Produce from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FDP opened at $34.81 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.64. Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.50 and a 1-year high of $40.75. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Fresh Del Monte Produce Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Fresh Del Monte Produce news, SVP Ziad Nabulsi sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.95, for a total value of $35,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 10,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,403.10. This represents a 8.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ghazaleh Mohammad Abu sold 7,575 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.61, for a total value of $277,320.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 5,040,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,543,029.02. The trade was a 0.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,039 shares of company stock valued at $5,010,709 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 31.60% of the company's stock.

Fresh Del Monte Produce 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.

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