SG Capital Management LLC Sells 76,065 Shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW)

SG Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) by 76.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 24,044 shares of the company’s stock after selling 76,065 shares during the period. SG Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Calavo Growers were worth $613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter worth approximately $86,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 139.5% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after buying an additional 3,141 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Lecil E. Cole bought 21,070 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 11th. The stock was acquired 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $12,720,941.10. This represents a 4.09% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael A. Browne purchased 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.69 per share, for a total transaction of $142,140.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,675. This represents a 400.00% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought a total of 73,438 shares of company stock valued at $1,771,303 over the last quarter. 7.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Calavo Growers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Calavo Growers Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of CVGW opened at $26.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $466.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -436.33 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.70. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.30 and a 1-year high of $30.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.87 and a 200 day moving average of $25.07.

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. Calavo Growers’s payout ratio is 148.15%.

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.