American Century Companies Inc. Has $31.55 Million Holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP - Free Report) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 950,108 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 171,574 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.98% of Fresh Del Monte Produce worth $31,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 104,348 shares of the company's stock worth $3,465,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock worth $644,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 22,592 shares of the company's stock worth $750,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 75.0% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 65.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. 64.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other Fresh Del Monte Produce news, COO Mohammed Abbas sold 5,064 shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total transaction of $154,046.88. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 45,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,385,935.20. The trade was a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Ziad Nabulsi sold 1,725 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total value of $52,474.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,498 shares in the company, valued at $349,769.16. This trade represents a 13.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,321 shares of company stock valued at $283,545 over the last quarter. 30.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Price Performance

Shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.19. 67,953 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 294,697. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $30.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.29. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.23 and a 1-year high of $35.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 2.09. The company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.47 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Fresh Del Monte Produce declared that its board 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 purchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a boost from Fresh Del Monte Produce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Fresh Del Monte Produce's payout ratio is 40.40%.

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.