Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $120.68 Million Stock Position in Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,653,753 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,780 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.05% of Central Garden & Pet worth $120,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the second quarter worth $26,000. CWM LLC lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 3,558.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the second quarter worth $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 61.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 37.4% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CENTA. StockNews.com cut Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Argus raised Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Brooks Pennington III sold 1,486 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.80, for a total value of $48,740.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,336,370.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Brooks Pennington III sold 1,486 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.80, for a total value of $48,740.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,743 shares in the company, valued at $1,336,370.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John Ranelli sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.28, for a total value of $85,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,178.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 63,986 shares of company stock worth $2,146,841 over the last three months. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $32.83 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $34.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Central Garden & Pet has a 12-month low of $27.88 and a 12-month high of $41.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.72 and a beta of 0.73.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.07. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.66% and a net margin of 4.42%. The business had revenue of $996.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Central Garden & Pet

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.