Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Makes New Investment in Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new position in Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,219 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $396,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Central Garden & Pet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 29,052 shares of the company's stock worth $1,127,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 23.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 2,101 shares of the company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 9,060 shares of the company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,521 shares of the company's stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.13% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Argus lowered Central Garden & Pet from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $45.00.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ CENT traded down $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $35.09. 384,697 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 139,851. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $36.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.95. Central Garden & Pet has a 12-month low of $32.17 and a 12-month high of $47.48. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 3.47 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In other news, insider John D. Walker III sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.86, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 12.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 8.19% of the company's stock.

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.