Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Acquires 74,256 Shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 7.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,112,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 74,256 shares during the quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $41,070,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Central Garden & Pet during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 1st quarter valued at about $174,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 31.1% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 5,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North Star Investment Management Corp. bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 1st quarter valued at about $194,000. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CENTA traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.78. 123,123 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,409. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 0.75. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $27.88 and a fifty-two week high of $41.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.42. The company has a current ratio of 3.33, a quick ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.16. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.30% and a net margin of 4.49%. The firm had revenue of $900.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $895.68 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CENTA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on Central Garden & Pet from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. StockNews.com cut Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Howard Machek sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.05, for a total value of $400,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 51,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,533.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Howard Machek sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.05, for a total value of $400,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 51,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,061,533.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John D. Walker III sold 4,218 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.31, for a total value of $170,027.58. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 85,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,428,889.53. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 714,218 shares of company stock worth $25,945,528. Corporate insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

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.