American Century Companies Inc. Has $8.68 Million Stock Position in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENT

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 236,681 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,590 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.36% of Central Garden & Pet worth $8,677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,820 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 35,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Simplex Trading LLC increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 136.2% during the 1st quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 2,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 1,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 14,742 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Truist Financial downgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Central Garden & Pet

In related news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 7,800 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 377,383 shares in the company, valued at $12,091,351.32. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John D. Walker III sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.59, for a total value of $114,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 67,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,194,219.52. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 8.19% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CENT opened at $35.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $37.18 and a 200-day moving average of $36.30. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.70. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 12 month low of $31.97 and a 12 month high of $43.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.56, a quick ratio of 2.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $960.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $993.66 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.77% and a net margin of 4.44%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current 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.