Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,845 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,267 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $1,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,621,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 161.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 122,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after buying an additional 75,718 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,175,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,304,000 after buying an additional 68,689 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 691,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,700,000 after buying an additional 59,368 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 773,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,273,000 after buying an additional 41,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Central Garden & Pet

In other news, insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,205,267.46. This trade 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 this link. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CENTA opened at $31.48 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 3.47. Central Garden & Pet has a fifty-two week low of $27.70 and a fifty-two week high of $41.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30 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 issued its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Central Garden & Pet 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.