Natixis Advisors LLC Has $758,000 Stake in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 32.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,156 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,718 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 398 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 53.1% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,538 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 29,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CENTA. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $35.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.67.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 3.3%

CENTA opened at $30.70 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 3.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 52 week low of $27.70 and a 52 week high of $37.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.17.

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

Insider Activity

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 7,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.04, for a total value of $249,912.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 377,383 shares in the company, valued at $12,091,351.32. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 107,800 shares of company stock valued at $3,490,112 over the last quarter. 20.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.