Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 20,209 Shares of Chewy (NYSE:CHWY)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Chewy by 43.6%, acquiring an additional 20,209 shares to reach a total of 66,607 shares valued at $2.165 million.
• Major shareholder Argos Holdings sold nearly 30 million shares of Chewy stock for over $1.25 billion in a recent transaction, while insider sales over the past quarter totaled approximately $1.26 billion.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic, with price targets for Chewy's stock ranging from $43.00 to $52.00, and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" based on 17 buy ratings and 9 hold ratings.

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Chewy (NYSE:CHWY - Free Report) by 43.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,607 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,209 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Chewy were worth $2,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CHWY. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Chewy by 150.2% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 788 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in shares of Chewy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Chewy by 104.6% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 941 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. lifted its position in shares of Chewy by 26.6% in the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 1,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Chewy by 225.7% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,293 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Chewy Price Performance

NYSE:CHWY traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.98. The stock had a trading volume of 794,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,277,025. Chewy has a 1-year low of $23.67 and a 1-year high of $48.62. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $40.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.45, a PEG ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 1.67.

Chewy (NYSE:CHWY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 11th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.08 billion. Chewy had a net margin of 3.21% and a return on equity of 35.04%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Chewy will post 0.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Chewy

In other Chewy news, CAO William G. Billings sold 20,142 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.57, for a total value of $716,450.94. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 29,464 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,034.48. This trade represents a 40.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Argos Holdings Gp Llc sold 29,940,120 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.75, for a total transaction of $1,250,000,010.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,156,840 shares of company stock valued at $1,258,466,043. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CHWY. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of Chewy in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Chewy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Chewy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Chewy in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, JMP Securities increased their target price on shares of Chewy from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.78.

Chewy Company Profile

Chewy, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the pure play e-commerce business in the United States. It provides pet food and treats, pet supplies and pet medications, and other pet-health products, as well as pet services for dogs, cats, fish, birds, small pets, horses, and reptiles through its retail websites and mobile applications.