Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. $FDP

Key Points

• Vanguard Group trimmed its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 4.76 million shares worth about $169.8 million, or roughly 9.97% of the company.
• Several other institutional investors increased their positions, and hedge funds and institutions now own 64.83% of the stock. Insider selling also picked up, including recent sales by COO Mohammed Abbas and SVP Marissa R. Tenazas.
• Fresh Del Monte reported better-than-expected earnings, with quarterly EPS of $0.63 and revenue of $1.04 billion, while also declaring a $0.30 per share quarterly dividend yielding about 3.3%.

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. (NYSE:FDP - Free Report) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,764,539 shares of the company's stock after selling 79,199 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.97% of Fresh Del Monte Produce worth $169,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 41.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 1,915,156 shares of the company's stock worth $66,494,000 after acquiring an additional 557,638 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,731,248 shares of the company's stock worth $60,109,000 after acquiring an additional 291,290 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,359,355 shares of the company's stock worth $47,197,000 after acquiring an additional 117,567 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 931,653 shares of the company's stock worth $32,347,000 after acquiring an additional 150,092 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 1,647.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,496 shares of the company's stock worth $18,390,000 after acquiring an additional 562,356 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.83% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at Fresh Del Monte Produce

In related news, COO Mohammed Abbas sold 3,458 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total transaction of $146,204.24. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 59,930 shares in the company, valued at $2,533,840.40. This trade represents a 5.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Marissa R. Tenazas sold 1,969 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.28, for a total value of $83,249.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 6,428 shares in the company, valued at $271,775.84. This trade represents a 23.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,151 shares of company stock worth $1,391,225. 30.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Fresh Del Monte Produce from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Fresh Del Monte Produce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy".

Fresh Del Monte Produce Stock Performance

Fresh Del Monte Produce stock opened at $36.82 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.46 and a 200-day moving average of $38.65. Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $31.43 and a 52 week high of $43.58.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.03 billion. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a return on equity of 7.61% and a net margin of 1.63%.The business's revenue was down 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Fresh Del Monte Produce's dividend payout ratio is 82.76%.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Profile

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables worldwide. The company offers a wide range of products including bananas, pineapples, melons, grapes and avocados, along with value-added items such as fruit salads, vegetable trays and snack packs under the Del Monte® brand.

Founded in 1989 as a spin-off from Del Monte, Fresh Del Monte has developed a global supply chain that spans production farms, ripening facilities and packaging centers across Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

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