Heartland Advisors Inc. Makes New $3.88 Million Investment in Mission Produce, Inc. $AVO

Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 329,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,882,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Mission Produce during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Mission Produce in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Mission Produce by 211.8% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 3,158 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Mission Produce by 466.0% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 5,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Mission Produce during the 3rd quarter valued at $95,000. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest acquired 687,222 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.42 per share, for a total transaction of $9,222,519.24. Following the transaction, the insider owned 12,370,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $166,011,291.38. The trade was a 5.88% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Bruce C. Taylor acquired 300,000 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $11.29 per share, with a total value of $3,387,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 455,842 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,146,456.18. This represents a 192.50% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 3,352,161 shares of company stock worth $42,458,664. 30.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AVO shares. Weiss Ratings cut Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. UBS Group set a $16.00 target price on Mission Produce in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.

Mission Produce Stock Up 0.4%

AVO stock opened at $13.29 on Friday. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 12 month low of $10.07 and a 12 month high of $15.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a PE ratio of 41.53 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.12.

Mission Produce announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, June 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 13.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Mission Produce

Mission Produce, Inc is a leading global supplier, packer and distributor of fresh avocados, serving retail, foodservice and industrial customers. The company manages a vertically integrated supply chain that spans sourcing, post-harvest handling, packing and ripening. Through proprietary ripening technologies and cold-chain logistics, Mission Produce delivers consistent quality and extended shelf life for its avocado offerings.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Oxnard, California, Mission Produce grew from a regional packing operation into a publicly traded company listed on the Nasdaq under the ticker AVO.