Handelsbanken Fonder AB Makes New $264,000 Investment in Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENTA. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 39.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 3,560 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the third quarter worth about $413,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Central Garden & Pet by 12.2% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 57,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,795,000 after buying an additional 6,233 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the third quarter worth $215,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 1.2% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,942,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,392,000 after purchasing an additional 36,251 shares in the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Central Garden & Pet news, insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on CENTA shares. Argus lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ CENTA opened at $30.95 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.47 and a quick ratio of 1.97. Central Garden & Pet has a 1 year low of $27.70 and a 1 year high of $41.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.14.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.24. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 10.08%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.