Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA Stock Position Lifted by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 17.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,577 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,446 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 53.1% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $224,000. Numerai GP LLC bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 1st quarter worth approximately $255,000. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 66.6% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 8,914 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 3,563 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Central Garden & Pet

In other Central Garden & Pet news, insider John D. Walker III sold 3,500 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.59, for a total transaction of $114,065.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 67,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,194,219.52. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ranelli sold 3,076 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.58, for a total value of $100,216.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,427 shares in the company, valued at $46,491.66. The trade was a 68.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CENTA. Wall Street Zen raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised 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 issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.67.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $33.03 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $33.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 3.56 and a quick ratio of 2.28. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 0.67. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 1-year low of $27.70 and a 1-year high of $37.35.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $960.91 million for 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

About Central Garden & Pet

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.