Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Shares Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 3,083.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,599 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,575 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 668.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the fourth quarter worth $102,000. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 12.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Numerai GP LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the fourth quarter worth $237,000. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CENTA. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.00.

Insider Activity at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.42, for a total transaction of $1,296,800.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 1,030,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,404,433.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 107,800 shares of company stock worth $3,490,112 in the last three months. Insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:CENTA opened at $30.44 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.95. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.73 and a beta of 0.68. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $27.70 and a fifty-two week high of $37.31. 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 (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $833.54 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $876.36 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 10.08%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.