Inspire Investing LLC Grows Position in Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT)

Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,247 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $356,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of CENT. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the second quarter worth $51,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 86,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,345,000 after buying an additional 1,873 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 112.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 3,265 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Central Garden & Pet by 6.8% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 53,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,272,000 after acquiring an additional 3,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 909.2% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 4,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 3,846 shares during the last quarter. 16.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:CENT opened at $38.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 0.75. Central Garden & Pet has a twelve month low of $30.75 and a twelve month high of $47.48. The company has a current ratio of 3.66, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.57.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $996.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 4.42% and a return on equity of 10.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.40 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Central Garden & Pet

In other news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $2,012,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,125,773 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,758,426.42. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Chairman William E. Brown sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.54, for a total value of $2,012,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,125,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,758,426.42. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brooks Pennington III sold 1,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.80, for a total value of $48,740.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 40,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,336,370.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,986 shares of company stock worth $2,146,841 over the last three months. 9.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CENT. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $52.00 to $49.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $52.75.

Central Garden & Pet Profile

Central Garden & Pet Company produces and distributes various products for the lawn and garden, and pet supplies markets in the United States. It operates through two segments: Pet and Garden. The Pet segment provides 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, and food and supplements; products for equine and livestock; animal and household health and insect control products; aquariums and terrariums, including fixtures and stands, water conditioners and supplements, water pumps and filters, and lighting systems and accessories; and live fish and small animals, as well as outdoor cushions.