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

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of 0.30 per share on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a 20.0% increase from Fresh Del Monte Produce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

Fresh Del Monte Produce has increased its dividend by an average of 26.0% annually over the last three 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 Trading Up 2.4 %

FDP opened at $31.23 on Friday. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a 1-year low of $21.23 and a 1-year high of $35.27. 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 company has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.64 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $31.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.08.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Fresh Del Monte Produce declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fresh Del Monte Produce news, CFO Monica Vicente sold 2,532 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total value of $77,023.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,808 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $328,779.36. This represents a 18.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 11,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $349,769.16. This represents a 13.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,321 shares of company stock valued at $283,545. Corporate insiders own 30.10% 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.