Insider Buying: Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM) Insider Buys 1,189 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider buying continued: Navios Maritime Partners insider Angeliki Frangou bought 1,189 shares at $71.59 each, and she has made several additional purchases in recent days, signaling ongoing confidence in the company.
• Strong operating results: The shipping company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $3.35 EPS versus $2.77 expected, with revenue of $357.01 million topping estimates and rising 17.4% year over year.
• Stock and dividend highlights: NMM shares were up 3.6% to $75.06, near their 52-week high of $80.69, while the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.06 from $0.05.

Navios Maritime Partners LP (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report) insider Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,189 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.59 per share, for a total transaction of $85,120.51. Following the purchase, the insider owned 4,759,807 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,754,583.13. This represents a 0.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Angeliki Frangou also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, July 6th, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,149 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $74.48 per share, with a total value of $85,577.52.
• On Thursday, July 2nd, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,173 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $73.05 per share, for a total transaction of $85,687.65.
• On Friday, June 26th, Angeliki Frangou purchased 1,195 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $69.22 per share, for a total transaction of $82,717.90.
• On Tuesday, June 30th, Angeliki Frangou purchased 1,199 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $69.50 per share, with a total value of $83,330.50.
• On Monday, June 29th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,208 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.88 per share, with a total value of $83,207.04.
• On Thursday, June 25th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,170 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $70.20 per share, with a total value of $82,134.00.
• On Wednesday, June 24th, Angeliki Frangou acquired 1,148 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $71.94 per share, for a total transaction of $82,587.12.
• On Tuesday, June 23rd, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,159 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.68 per share, for a total transaction of $84,236.12.
• On Monday, June 22nd, Angeliki Frangou bought 1,187 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The stock was purchased at an average price of $71.39 per share, with a total value of $84,739.93.
• On Thursday, June 18th, Angeliki Frangou purchased 1,151 shares of Navios Maritime Partners stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $71.10 per share, with a total value of $81,836.10.

Navios Maritime Partners Trading Up 3.6%

Navios Maritime Partners stock opened at $75.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. Navios Maritime Partners LP has a 52 week low of $37.42 and a 52 week high of $80.69.

Navios Maritime Partners (NYSE:NMM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The shipping company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.58. Navios Maritime Partners had a net margin of 25.05% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $357.01 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $317.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. Navios Maritime Partners's quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Navios Maritime Partners Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 11th were given a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. This is a boost from Navios Maritime Partners's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. Navios Maritime Partners's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.02%.

Institutional Trading of Navios Maritime Partners

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ION Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in Navios Maritime Partners in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,432,000. Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 45,274.3% during the first quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 149,527 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $10,090,000 after acquiring an additional 149,858 shares in the last quarter. Marnell Management LLC bought a new stake in Navios Maritime Partners during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,027,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Navios Maritime Partners by 57.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 199,141 shares of the shipping company's stock worth $13,438,000 after buying an additional 72,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Navios Maritime Partners by 150.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 87,535 shares of the shipping company's stock valued at $4,589,000 after purchasing an additional 52,651 shares during the last quarter. 62.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on NMM shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Navios Maritime Partners from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Navios Maritime Partners from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Navios Maritime Partners in a report on Friday, April 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $85.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.00.

About Navios Maritime Partners

Navios Maritime Partners L.P. NYSE: NMM is a dry bulk shipping company that owns and operates a fleet of Capesize, Panamax and Supramax vessels. The partnership charters its vessels under medium- and long-term contracts to a diverse group of charterers, providing seaborne transportation for major bulk cargoes such as iron ore, coal, grain and fertilizers. Through this asset-light model, Navios Maritime Partners seeks to generate stable cash flows while retaining flexibility to capitalize on market opportunities.

Formed in November 2007 and sponsored by Navios Maritime Holdings Inc, the partnership leverages the operating platform and commercial management capabilities of the Navios group.

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