Swiss National Bank Trims Stock Holdings in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENT

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CENT. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 13.7% in the first quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 2,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 4,556.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 3,372 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 201.1% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 2,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Central Garden & Pet in the fourth quarter valued at about $240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.13% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ CENT opened at $35.81 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $37.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.30. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $43.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.28 and a beta of 0.70. 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 (NASDAQ:CENT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John D. Walker III sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 67,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,219.52. This represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman William E. Brown sold 7,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman owned 377,383 shares in the company, valued at $12,091,351.32. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.