Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,804,612 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,819 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.31% of Central Garden & Pet worth $169,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CENTA. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 209.2% during the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,888,000 after buying an additional 936,852 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 181.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 549,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,222,000 after acquiring an additional 354,016 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 1,109.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 196,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,811,000 after acquiring an additional 180,503 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 237.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 211,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,249,000 after acquiring an additional 148,900 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,892,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,874,000 after acquiring an additional 142,319 shares during the period. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $126,546.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,287. This represents a 85.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $108,485.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $428,766.10. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 20.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CENTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $34.24 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.17. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 52-week low of $25.97 and a 52-week high of $37.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a current ratio of 3.45.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.21. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The business had revenue of $906.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Central Garden & Pet

Central Garden & Pet Co is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of branded consumable gardening products and pet supplies in North America. Headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, the company serves both retail and wholesale customers through a network of distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Operating under the ticker symbol CENTA on the NASDAQ exchange, Central Garden & Pet has been publicly traded since 2003.

The company’s Garden segment offers a broad portfolio of lawn and garden care solutions, including fertilizers, weed and pest control products, soil and mulch, and plant care accessories.