Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Shares Acquired by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 197,652 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,242 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Central Garden & Pet worth $6,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CENTA. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 161.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 122,530 shares of the company's stock worth $3,849,000 after purchasing an additional 75,718 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,573,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 268,331 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,868,000 after buying an additional 8,889 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 89.8% in the 4th quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC now owns 685,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,667,000 after buying an additional 324,493 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $473,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.82% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ CENTA traded down $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $32.17. The company had a trading volume of 15,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 327,884. Central Garden & Pet has a 12-month low of $27.70 and a 12-month high of $38.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.08.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $833.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $876.36 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 10.08%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Central Garden & Pet

In other news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.42, for a total value of $1,296,800.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,030,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,404,433.30. This represents a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.