Fourth Sail Capital LP Grows Stock Holdings in Mission Produce, Inc. $AVO

Fourth Sail Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) by 258.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,976,272 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,867,072 shares during the period. Mission Produce accounts for 7.1% of Fourth Sail Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Fourth Sail Capital LP’s holdings in Mission Produce were worth $46,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Mission Produce by 5.9% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 37,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in Mission Produce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $449,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mission Produce during the second quarter worth $140,000. Fruth Investment Management acquired a new stake in Mission Produce in the 2nd quarter worth about $282,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Mission Produce by 809.2% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 444,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,111,000 after buying an additional 395,287 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 63.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AVO. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Mission Produce from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Mission Produce from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group set a $16.00 price target on shares of Mission Produce in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Mission Produce presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

Insider Transactions at Mission Produce

In other news, major shareholder Holdings Venture Globalharvest purchased 592,957 shares of Mission Produce stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $13.28 per share, for a total transaction of $7,874,468.96. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 12,963,396 shares in the company, valued at approximately $172,153,898.88. This trade represents a 4.79% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce C. Taylor acquired 70,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.25 per share, with a total value of $790,683.75. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 855,842 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,628,222.50. This trade represents a 8.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 3,352,161 shares of company stock worth $42,458,664. 30.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Mission Produce Price Performance

AVO stock opened at $13.06 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.02. The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.81 and a beta of 0.49. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $10.07 and a 1 year high of $15.53.

Mission Produce declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, June 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 13.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board 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.