Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Stake Trimmed by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,452 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,431 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CENTA. Keybank National Association OH boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 17,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 468 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 160,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,303,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 43.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 668.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Olstein Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Olstein Capital Management L.P. now owns 77,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,545,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on CENTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Argus cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CENTA opened at $32.42 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81 and a beta of 0.70. Central Garden & Pet has a 12-month low of $27.70 and a 12-month high of $41.03.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,205,267.46. This represents a 12.97 % 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. Corporate insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

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.