Are Insiders Selling Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) Stock?

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It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. On the other hand, we'd be remiss not to mention that insider sales have been known to precede tough periods for a business. So before you buy or sell Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling.

What Is Insider Buying?

It's quite normal to see company insiders, such as board members, trading in company stock, from time to time. However, most countries require that the company discloses such transactions to the market.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Harvard University study found that 'insider purchases earn abnormal returns of more than 6% per year.

See our latest analysis for Fresh Del Monte Produce

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Fresh Del Monte Produce

The insider, Hanan Abu-Ghazaleh, made the biggest insider sale in the last 12 months. That single transaction was for US$1.5m worth of shares at a price of US$34.11 each. So what is clear is that an insider saw fit to sell at around the current price of US$30.51. While insider selling is a negative, to us, it is more negative if the shares are sold at a lower price. We note that this sale took place at around the current price, so it isn't a major concern, though it's hardly a good sign.

Over the last year, we note insiders sold 87755 shares worth US$2.7m. Fresh Del Monte Produce insiders didn't buy any shares over the last year. The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

NYSE:FDP Recent Insider Trading, October 15th 2019
NYSE:FDP Recent Insider Trading, October 15th 2019

If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insiders at Fresh Del Monte Produce Have Sold Stock Recently

Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider selling at Fresh Del Monte Produce. insider Sergio Mancilla sold just US$18k worth of shares in that time. It's not great to see insider selling, nor the lack of recent buyers. But the amount sold isn't enough for us to put any weight on it.

Insider Ownership

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Fresh Del Monte Produce insiders own about US$547m worth of shares (which is 37% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

What Might The Insider Transactions At Fresh Del Monte Produce Tell Us?

We did not see any insider buying in the last three months, but we did see selling. But the sales were small, so we're not concerned. It's heartening that insiders own plenty of stock, but we'd like to see more insider buying, since the last year of Fresh Del Monte Produce insider transactions don't fill us with confidence. Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Fresh Del Monte Produce, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

Of course Fresh Del Monte Produce may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading.

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