Ameriprise Financial Inc. Invests $561,000 in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new position in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 22,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter worth about $1,317,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $763,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Calavo Growers by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 166,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,243,000 after acquiring an additional 10,656 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $623,000. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Calavo Growers

In related news, CEO Lecil E. Cole purchased 21,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.73 per share, with a total value of $499,991.10. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 536,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,720,941.10. This represents a 4.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Michael A. Browne purchased 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.12 per share, with a total value of $115,600.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 6,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $147,968. This represents a 357.14% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders bought 73,438 shares of company stock valued at $1,771,303. Corporate insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Calavo Growers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th.

Calavo Growers Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CVGW opened at $27.12 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $25.69 and a 200 day moving average of $24.94. The stock has a market cap of $483.74 million, a P/E ratio of -452.00 and a beta of 0.42. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.30 and a 12 month high of $30.58. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.15%.

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.