Advisors Preferred LLC Invests $2.61 Million in Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. $FDP

Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. (NYSE:FDP) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 78,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FDP. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,943,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,395,000 after purchasing an additional 133,638 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $35,010,000 after buying an additional 30,216 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 15.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,101,091 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,947,000 after purchasing an additional 150,983 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 1.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 930,921 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,700,000 after purchasing an additional 11,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 88.9% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 712,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,113,000 after acquiring an additional 335,619 shares in the last quarter. 64.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:FDP opened at $35.81 on Tuesday. Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc. has a 1 year low of $26.50 and a 1 year high of $40.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 2.09. The business has a fifty day moving average of $34.99 and a 200-day moving average of $34.48.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.19. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 1.84%.The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 12th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 12th. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on FDP. Wall Street Zen downgraded Fresh Del Monte Produce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Insider Activity

In other Fresh Del Monte Produce news, SVP Gianpaolo Renino sold 12,192 shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.53, for a total transaction of $445,373.76. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,786.41. The trade was a 79.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ghazaleh Mohammad Abu sold 50,000 shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.92, for a total value of $1,796,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,990,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $179,268,889.44. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,594 shares of company stock worth $3,468,975. Corporate insiders own 31.60% of the company’s stock.

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.