Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT) Insider John D. Walker III Sells 10,000 Shares

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 67,111 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,205,267.46. The trade was a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 0.9 %

CENT stock traded down $0.37 during trading on Friday, hitting $38.75. 80,409 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 85,463. The stock has a market cap of $2.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.47 and a quick ratio of 2.19. Central Garden & Pet has a 1 year low of $32.17 and a 1 year high of $47.48. The firm's 50 day moving average is $38.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.63.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.2 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on CENT shares. Argus lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $48.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.75.

Institutional Trading of Central Garden & Pet

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 207,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,035,000 after purchasing an additional 3,655 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 56,356 shares of the company's stock worth $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 201.1% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,818 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 2,550 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 796,917 shares of the company's stock worth $30,920,000 after acquiring an additional 22,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 35,763 shares of the company's stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.13% of the company's stock.

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.