Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 87,452 Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 4.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,889,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 87,452 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 2.88% of Central Garden & Pet worth $60,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 53.1% during the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter worth about $224,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter valued at about $236,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter valued at about $255,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 797.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 9,187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 8,163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $26.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $31.37 and a 200 day moving average of $31.93. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $1.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.63. Central Garden & Pet Company has a twelve month low of $25.97 and a twelve month high of $37.35.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $960.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $993.66 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 4.44%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, insider John D. Walker III sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.59, for a total value of $114,065.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 67,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,194,219.52. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ranelli sold 3,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.58, for a total value of $100,216.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,491.66. The trade was a 68.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CENTA. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.67.

Central Garden & Pet 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.