Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Insider Sells $328,600.00 in Stock

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $328,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 67,111 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,205,267.46. The trade was a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of CENT opened at $39.35 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.29 and a 200 day moving average of $37.64. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $32.17 and a fifty-two week high of $47.48. The firm has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 3.47.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 3.77%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 693.6% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $111,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 193.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

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.