Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Chairman William E. Brown Sells 40,000 Shares

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Chairman William E. Brown sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.42, for a total transaction of $1,296,800.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 1,030,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,404,433.30. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $35.95 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78. Central Garden & Pet has a 52 week low of $31.97 and a 52 week high of $46.85. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.00.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.10. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 3.77% and a return on equity of 10.08%. The firm had revenue of $833.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $876.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.99 EPS. Central Garden & Pet’s revenue was down 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 29,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its position 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 period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 37,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 35,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the first quarter worth $33,000. 16.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Truist Financial cut shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th.

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.