Russell Investments Group Ltd. Purchases 21,584 Shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 335,914 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,584 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 1.88% of Calavo Growers worth $8,566,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 215.5% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 262,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,493,000 after acquiring an additional 179,395 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Calavo Growers by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 445,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,368,000 after purchasing an additional 94,221 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 221.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,533,000 after purchasing an additional 85,272 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 150,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 77,220 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,371,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Calavo Growers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Lake Street Capital cut their target price on Calavo Growers from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Calavo Growers Price Performance

CVGW stock opened at $23.97 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.31. The firm has a market cap of $427.55 million, a P/E ratio of -399.50 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.30 and a 12 month high of $30.58.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.25). Calavo Growers had a negative net margin of 0.16% and a positive return on equity of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $169.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.99 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.33) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.15%.

Insider Activity at Calavo Growers

In related news, EVP Michael A. Browne bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.69 per share, with a total value of $142,140.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,675. The trade was a 400.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO James E. Snyder purchased 3,213 shares of Calavo Growers stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.33 per share, for a total transaction of $74,959.29. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 5,157 shares in the company, valued at $120,312.81. This represents a 165.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 14,213 shares of company stock valued at $332,699 over the last ninety days. 7.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Calavo Growers Profile

Calavo Growers, Inc markets and distributes avocados, prepared avocados, and other perishable foods to retail grocery and foodservice customers, club stores, mass merchandisers, food distributors, and wholesale customers worldwide. It operates through Grown and Prepared segments. The Grown segment distributes tomatoes and papayas; and procures avocados grown in California, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia.