Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stake in Mission Produce, Inc. $AVO

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVO) by 6,802.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 105,534 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,005 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.15% of Mission Produce worth $1,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Mission Produce in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,137,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Mission Produce by 29.8% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 204,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,147,000 after buying an additional 46,992 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in Mission Produce by 6.6% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 89,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $936,000 after buying an additional 5,500 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Mission Produce by 3.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,920,349 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,605,000 after buying an additional 85,984 shares during the period. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its stake in Mission Produce by 92.3% during the first quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 85,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $898,000 after buying an additional 41,125 shares during the period. 63.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mission Produce

In other news, CFO Bryan E. Giles sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.43, for a total transaction of $40,005.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 131,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,498,038.66. This trade represents a 2.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 35.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Mission Produce from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Mission Produce currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Mission Produce Stock Up 1.4%

Mission Produce stock opened at $12.65 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $893.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $12.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.34. Mission Produce, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.56 and a 52 week high of $15.25.

Mission Produce (NASDAQ:AVO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.09. Mission Produce had a net margin of 2.63% and a return on equity of 7.82%. The company had revenue of $380.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $296.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.14 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Mission Produce, Inc. will post 0.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Mission Produce

Mission Produce, Inc engages in the sourcing, farming, packaging, marketing, and distribution of avocados, mangoes, and blueberries to food retailers, distributors, and foodservice customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments, Marketing and Distribution; International Farming; and Blueberries.