Insider Selling: Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) CFO Sells 2,532 Shares of Stock

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP - Get Free Report) CFO Monica Vicente sold 2,532 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total value of $77,023.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $328,779.36. The trade was a 18.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FDP traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $31.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 426,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 270,367. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 94.64 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.15. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.23 and a 52 week high of $35.27.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. The business's revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.25 EPS.

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Fresh Del Monte Produce Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Fresh Del Monte Produce's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Fresh Del Monte Produce's dividend payout ratio is 40.40%.

Fresh Del Monte Produce declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fresh Del Monte Produce

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FDP. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 795.0% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,083 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 962 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Sherman Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Institutional investors own 64.83% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Fresh Del Monte Produce from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday.

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.