John D. Walker III Sells 10,000 Shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Stock

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total value of $328,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 67,111 shares in the company, valued at $2,205,267.46. This trade represents a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 2.7 %

CENT stock opened at $38.30 on Thursday. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $32.17 and a fifty-two week high of $47.48. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 3.47. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.79.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.08% and a net margin of 3.77%. As a group, analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 29,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,127,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the period. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 23.2% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 37,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 29.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CENT shares. Argus cut Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $50.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Central Garden & Pet Company 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.