Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Position Reduced by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP decreased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 33.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,242 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,137 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $74,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 668.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 43.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter valued at $102,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 253.7% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 3,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 32.0% in the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 6,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on CENTA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Argus cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,205,267.46. This represents a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 6.0 %

Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $30.46 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Central Garden & Pet has a 12 month low of $27.70 and a 12 month high of $41.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.74 and a beta of 0.70.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 10.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal 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.