Texas Permanent School Fund Trims Stock Position in Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA)

Texas Permanent School Fund lessened its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA – Get Rating) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,866 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,948 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund owned about 0.05% of Central Garden & Pet worth $998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CENTA. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 43.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,753,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,897,000 after purchasing an additional 527,216 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,362,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $251,517,000 after purchasing an additional 120,910 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,371,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,254,000 after purchasing an additional 72,345 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,495,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,236,000 after buying an additional 67,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,669,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,767,000 after buying an additional 58,088 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on CENTA. TheStreet upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.75.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In related news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 115,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.43, for a total value of $4,560,907.53. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 923,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,411,436.35. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CENTA opened at $35.35 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.44, a current ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $33.69 and a fifty-two week high of $43.43. The stock has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.01.

Central Garden & Pet Profile

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Central Garden & Pet Co engages in the production and distribution of branded and private label products for the lawn, and garden and pet supplies markets. It operates through the following segments: Pets and Garden. The Pet segment includes dog and cat supplies such as dog treats and chews, toys, pet beds and grooming products, waste management and training pads, pet containment, 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.