Martingale Asset Management L P Purchases Shares of 15,297 Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW)

Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new position in shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 15,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $390,000. Martingale Asset Management L P owned about 0.09% of Calavo Growers at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter worth $1,371,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 221.1% during the third 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. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers in the 4th quarter valued at about $310,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers in the 4th quarter valued at about $709,000. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 338.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 20,551 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Calavo Growers Price Performance

Shares of CVGW opened at $23.97 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.17. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $20.30 and a fifty-two week high of $30.58. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.29. The company has a market capitalization of $427.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -399.50 and a beta of 0.41.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last posted 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). Calavo Growers had a negative net margin of 0.16% and a positive return on equity of 9.66%. The company had revenue of $169.96 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $161.99 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.33) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CVGW shares. StockNews.com cut Calavo Growers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Lake Street Capital cut their target price on shares of Calavo Growers from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Insider Activity at Calavo Growers

In other news, EVP Michael A. Browne bought 6,000 shares of Calavo Growers stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO James E. Snyder purchased 3,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The shares were purchased 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,312.81. This trade represents a 165.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 14,213 shares of company stock worth $332,699 in the last three months. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Calavo Growers Company 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.