William E. Brown Sells 60,000 Shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Stock

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Chairman William E. Brown sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $2,012,400.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,125,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,758,426.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $33.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $33.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.32. Central Garden & Pet has a 1 year low of $27.88 and a 1 year high of $41.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.66 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $996.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 4.42%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 30.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,636,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,093,000 after buying an additional 1,306,309 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,653,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $120,682,000 after acquiring an additional 29,780 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,303,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,040,000 after acquiring an additional 457,699 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 29.9% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,087,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,059,000 after acquiring an additional 480,805 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,112,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,070,000 after purchasing an additional 74,256 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CENTA shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Argus raised shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet Company produces and distributes various products for the lawn and garden, and pet supplies markets in the United States. It operates through two segments: Pet and Garden. The Pet segment provides dog and cat supplies, such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and containment, grooming products, waste management, and training pads; supplies for aquatics, small animals, reptiles, and pet birds, including toys, cages and habitats, bedding, and food and supplements; products for equine and livestock; animal and household health and insect control products; aquariums and terrariums, including fixtures and stands, water conditioners and supplements, water pumps and filters, and lighting systems and accessories; and live fish and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions.