Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) Plans $0.25 Quarterly Dividend

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 30th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 16th will be given a dividend of 0.25 per share on Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th.

Fresh Del Monte Produce has raised its dividend payment by an average of 35.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 2 years. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a payout ratio of 40.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Price Performance

Shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce stock traded up $0.08 on Monday, hitting $24.55. 67,326 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 213,812. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a 12-month low of $21.41 and a 12-month high of $28.55. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by ($0.26). The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a positive return on equity of 4.59% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, TheStreet downgraded Fresh Del Monte Produce from a “b-” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ghazaleh Amir Abu bought 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $236,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,264,308 shares in the company, valued at $77,102,954.96. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Fresh Del Monte Produce news, SVP Jesus Rodriguez Calvo sold 2,402 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total value of $59,065.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ghazaleh Amir Abu purchased 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.62 per share, with a total value of $236,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,264,308 shares in the company, valued at $77,102,954.96. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,569 shares of company stock valued at $258,509. 36.96% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.