Ziad Nabulsi Sells 1,725 Shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) Stock

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) SVP Ziad Nabulsi sold 1,725 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total transaction of $52,474.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $349,769.16. The trade was a 13.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Trading Up 1.8 %

Fresh Del Monte Produce stock opened at $30.52 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 2.09. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.23 and a fifty-two week high of $35.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.47 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.09.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 0.36%. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.25 earnings per share.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Fresh Del Monte Produce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s payout ratio is presently 40.40%.

Fresh Del Monte Produce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Fresh Del Monte Produce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,809,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,722,000 after acquiring an additional 133,122 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,306,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,595,000 after purchasing an additional 15,278 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,522,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,105,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,709,000 after buying an additional 44,777 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 22.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 950,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,553,000 after buying an additional 171,574 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.83% of the company’s stock.

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.