JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Stock Position in Dole PLC $DOLE

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Dole PLC (NYSE:DOLE) by 9.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,198,417 shares of the company’s stock after selling 120,378 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 1.26% of Dole worth $16,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Dole by 120.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Dole during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Dole by 269.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new stake in Dole during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Dole by 62.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 10,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,867 shares during the last quarter.

Dole Price Performance

Shares of DOLE stock opened at $15.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.40. Dole PLC has a one year low of $12.52 and a one year high of $16.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. Dole had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 0.56%.The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. Dole’s quarterly revenue was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Dole PLC will post 1.19 EPS for the current year.

Dole announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, November 10th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 8.3% 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.

Dole Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be given a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Dole’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DOLE. Wall Street Zen raised Dole from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Dole in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.00.

Dole Profile

Dole plc is a global producer, marketer and distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables. The company’s product range includes bananas, pineapples, berries, grapes, salads and a variety of other fresh and packaged produce, sold under the Dole brand and through private-label arrangements. Dole’s operations span the full fresh-produce value chain, from farming and sourcing to packing, ripening, cold‑chain logistics and wholesale and retail distribution, supporting both retail grocery and foodservice customers.

The company traces its commercial heritage to the early 20th century Hawaiian pineapple business founded by James Dole and has evolved through subsequent corporate restructurings and combinations.