Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Buys 202,761 Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA - Free Report) by 21.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,164,376 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 202,761 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 1.78% of Central Garden & Pet worth $38,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 53.1% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,458 shares of the company's stock valued at $180,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the first quarter valued at about $224,000. Finally, Numerai GP LLC acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter valued at about $237,000. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Central Garden & Pet

In other news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 7,800 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $12,091,351.32. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold 107,800 shares of company stock worth $3,490,112 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 20.28% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on CENTA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Central Garden & Pet from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $35.87 on Wednesday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $33.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.13. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 12 month low of $27.70 and a 12 month high of $37.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 3.31, a quick ratio of 1.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.10. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.14% and a net margin of 3.90%. The firm had revenue of $833.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.36 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

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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