Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Fresh Del Monte Produce was downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analyst outlook.
• The company's quarterly earnings report showed better-than-expected results with earnings per share of $1.23, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.28.
• Recent insider sales included significant stock transactions, with insiders selling over 137,000 shares worth approximately $5 million in the last quarter.

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Trading Up 1.7%

FDP stock traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $36.30. The company had a trading volume of 424,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,132. 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 has a 52 week low of $26.50 and a 52 week high of $40.75. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $35.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.50. The stock has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.43.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid 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 3.3%. Fresh Del Monte Produce's payout ratio is 38.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Ziad Nabulsi sold 1,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 10,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at $377,403.10. This represents a 8.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gianpaolo Renino sold 12,192 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.53, for a total value of $445,373.76. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,039 shares of company stock valued at $5,010,709 over the last three months. 31.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresh Del Monte Produce

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 111.0% in the first quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 47,673 shares of the company's stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 25,081 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 17.4% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 22,741 shares of the company's stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 3,371 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 30,216 shares during the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 17.6% in the first quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 78,671 shares of the company's stock worth $2,425,000 after acquiring an additional 11,796 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 2,671.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 207,393 shares of the company's stock worth $6,727,000 after acquiring an additional 199,911 shares during the last quarter. 64.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.