Foster & Motley Inc. Makes New Investment in Dole PLC $DOLE

Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Dole PLC (NYSE:DOLE) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 56,241 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $772,000. Foster & Motley Inc. owned 0.06% of Dole as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of DOLE. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dole by 120.8% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Dole by 269.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 2,709 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Dole in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Dole during the first quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Dole in the 4th quarter valued at $66,000.

Dole Stock Up 3.0%

NYSE:DOLE opened at $13.30 on Thursday. Dole PLC has a fifty-two week low of $12.52 and a fifty-two week high of $16.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.28. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.60.

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. The company had revenue of $2.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. Dole had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 0.63%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Dole PLC will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dole Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Dole’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on DOLE. Zacks Research upgraded Dole from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Dole from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $14.00 target price on shares of Dole in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.00.

Dole Company Profile

Dole plc is a global producer, marketer and distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables. The company’s product range includes bananas, pineapples, berries, grapes, salads and a variety of other fresh and packaged produce, sold under the Dole brand and through private-label arrangements. Dole’s operations span the full fresh-produce value chain, from farming and sourcing to packing, ripening, cold?chain logistics and wholesale and retail distribution, supporting both retail grocery and foodservice customers.

The company traces its commercial heritage to the early 20th century Hawaiian pineapple business founded by James Dole and has evolved through subsequent corporate restructurings and combinations.