Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. Makes New $425,000 Investment in Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP)

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 12,795 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,809,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,722,000 after buying an additional 133,122 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce during the fourth quarter worth about $434,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,099,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,114,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 950,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,553,000 after buying an additional 171,574 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Fresh Del Monte Produce from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th.

Insider Activity

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

Fresh Del Monte Produce Stock Performance

NYSE FDP opened at $30.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of 91.95 and a beta of 0.33. Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. has a twelve month low of $21.23 and a twelve month high of $35.27.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Fresh Del Monte Produce had a net margin of 0.36% and a return on equity of 5.91%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s revenue was up .5% on a year-over-year basis.

Fresh Del Monte Produce declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is 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 given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is a positive change from Fresh Del Monte Produce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.40%.

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.