American Century Companies Inc. Acquires 171,574 Shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) by 22.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sherman Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 244.3% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 75.0% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 106.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 3,858 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.83% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity

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

Fresh Del Monte Produce Stock Performance

FDP stock opened at $30.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.04. 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 market cap of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.95 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.22.

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

Fresh Del Monte Produce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Fresh Del Monte Produce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s payout ratio is currently 40.40%.

Fresh Del Monte Produce announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that permits the company to repurchase $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Fresh Del Monte Produce 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.