Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.30 (NYSE:FDP)

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 1st, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share on Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th.

Fresh Del Monte Produce has increased its dividend by an average of 26.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 5 consecutive years. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a dividend payout ratio of 40.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Price Performance

FDP stock opened at $32.97 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.94. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a 12-month low of $21.23 and a 12-month high of $35.27. The firm has a market cap of $1.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 99.91 and a beta of 0.36.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.01. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a net margin of 0.36% and a return on equity of 5.91%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Activity at Fresh Del Monte Produce

In other Fresh Del Monte Produce news, SVP Marissa R. Tenazas sold 1,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.05, for a total value of $35,645.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,941.65. This represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ziad Nabulsi sold 1,725 shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total transaction of $52,474.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,498 shares in the company, valued at $349,769.16. This trade represents a 13.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,469 shares of company stock valued at $319,190. 31.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Fresh Del Monte Produce announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.