Invesco Ltd. Sells 11,725 Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Invesco Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 378,701 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,725 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.58% of Central Garden & Pet worth $12,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CENTA. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 21.1% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,164,376 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,110,000 after buying an additional 202,761 shares in the last quarter. Credit Industriel ET Commercial acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,818,000. Logan Stone Capital LLC increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Logan Stone Capital LLC now owns 399,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,214,000 after acquiring an additional 143,668 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 76.0% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 175,925 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,814,000 after acquiring an additional 75,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,328,000. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 7,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.04, for a total value of $249,912.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ CENTA opened at $33.20 on Friday. 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 12-month low of $27.70 and a 12-month high of $37.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.23. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.09 and a beta of 0.67.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $993.66 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CENTA. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 price target (down from $40.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.