Central Garden & Pet Company $CENT Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Central Garden & Pet Company by 27.1% in Q1, owning approximately 1,074,736 shares valued at $39.4 million after selling 399,577 shares.
• Chairman William E. Brown and insider John D. Walker III both sold shares, indicating a decrease in their respective positions by 2.03% and 4.94%.
• Truist Financial downgraded Central Garden & Pet's stock rating from "buy" to "hold", with a price target set at $35.00, as the stock currently holds an average rating of "Hold" with a price target of $40.00.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,074,736 shares of the company's stock after selling 399,577 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 1.64% of Central Garden & Pet worth $39,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in CENT. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,820 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 4,556.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,372 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 201.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 4th quarter valued at about $240,000. 16.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 7,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.04, for a total transaction of $249,912.00. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 377,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,091,351.32. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John D. Walker III sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.59, for a total transaction of $114,065.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 67,328 shares in the company, valued at $2,194,219.52. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CENT opened at $35.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.30. Central Garden & Pet Company has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $43.88. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.70.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.22. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 4.44% and a return on equity of 10.77%. The firm had revenue of $960.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $993.66 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, garden, and pet supplies markets. It operates through the Pet and Garden segments. The Pet segment focuses on 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, food and supplements, products for equine and livestock, animal and household health and insect control products, live fish, and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions.

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