Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW)

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,148,505 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 22,777 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 6.44% of Calavo Growers worth $29,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVGW. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Calavo Growers by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,713 shares of the company's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Finally, Semanteon Capital Management LP boosted its position in Calavo Growers by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP now owns 20,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 3,325 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Calavo Growers Stock Up 6.1 %

NASDAQ:CVGW traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.17. 455,049 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 210,758. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.30 and a 1 year high of $30.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $466.79 million, a P/E ratio of -436.17 and a beta of 0.41. The business's 50-day moving average price is $23.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Calavo Growers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael A. Browne bought 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.69 per share, for a total transaction of $142,140.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 7,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,675. The trade was a 400.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lecil E. Cole purchased 21,070 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $23.73 per share, for a total transaction of $499,991.10. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 536,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,720,941.10. The trade was a 4.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 73,438 shares of company stock worth $1,771,303 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Lake Street Capital dropped their price target on Calavo Growers from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Calavo Growers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday.

About Calavo Growers

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.