First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 31,009 Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors increased its Central Garden & Pet stake by 28.4% in the first quarter, purchasing 31,009 shares and bringing its holdings to 140,311 shares valued at approximately $4.55 million.
• Institutional investors own 50.82% of CENTA, with major holders including Vanguard, State Street, LSV Asset Management, Geode Capital Management and Manufacturers Life Insurance.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $46.67 price target. The company also beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.29 in earnings per share and $906.15 million in revenue.

First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA - Free Report) by 28.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,311 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 31,009 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.23% of Central Garden & Pet worth $4,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CENTA. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,612 shares of the company's stock worth $169,437,000 after acquiring an additional 20,819 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Central Garden & Pet by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,174,296 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,034,000 after acquiring an additional 73,755 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,123,479 shares of the company's stock worth $61,984,000 after purchasing an additional 738,860 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,038,370 shares of the company's stock worth $30,317,000 after purchasing an additional 17,263 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 964,380 shares of the company's stock worth $28,150,000 after purchasing an additional 129,496 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.67.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $38.65 on Wednesday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $37.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.49. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 1-year low of $25.97 and a 1-year high of $39.99. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 3.45 and a quick ratio of 2.16.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.21. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business had revenue of $906.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.58 million. On average, research analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded consumable gardening products and pet supplies in North America. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, the company serves both retail and wholesale customers through a network of distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Operating under the ticker symbol CENTA on the NASDAQ exchange, Central Garden & Pet has been publicly traded since 2003.

The company's Garden segment offers a broad portfolio of lawn and garden care solutions, including fertilizers, weed and pest control products, soil and mulch, and plant care accessories.

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