Trexquant Investment LP Purchases 76,486 Shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. $FDP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 787.0% in the first quarter, owning 86,205 shares valued at approximately $2.66 million.
• Fresh Del Monte Produce's stock received an upgrade from buy to strong-buy by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased confidence from analysts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.30, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 38.46%.

Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. (NYSE:FDP - Free Report) by 787.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 86,205 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 76,486 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.18% of Fresh Del Monte Produce worth $2,658,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,943,089 shares of the company's stock worth $152,395,000 after purchasing an additional 133,638 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 2.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,135,569 shares of the company's stock worth $35,010,000 after purchasing an additional 30,216 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 15.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,101,091 shares of the company's stock worth $33,947,000 after acquiring an additional 150,983 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 930,921 shares of the company's stock worth $28,700,000 after acquiring an additional 11,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 68.8% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 580,018 shares of the company's stock worth $17,882,000 after acquiring an additional 236,476 shares during the last quarter. 64.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gianpaolo Renino sold 12,192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $116,786.41. This represents a 79.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ghazaleh Mohammad Abu sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.92, for a total value of $1,796,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,990,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,268,889.44. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 136,766 shares of company stock valued at $5,000,949. Company insiders own 30.10% of the company's stock.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FDP traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.28. 34,637 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 371,179. The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.08. Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. has a one year low of $26.50 and a one year high of $40.75. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.39 and a 200 day moving average of $33.24.

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

Fresh Del Monte Produce Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Fresh Del Monte Produce from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

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.