First Eagle Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 174,438 Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 174,438 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,092,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CENTA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in Central Garden & Pet by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 56.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after buying an additional 17,556 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 179.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 180,907 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,921,000 after buying an additional 116,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.1% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 263,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,625,000 after acquiring an additional 12,749 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of CENTA stock opened at $34.36 on Thursday. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 52-week low of $25.97 and a 52-week high of $37.71. The stock has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.49 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. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $33.08 and a 200-day moving average of $31.34.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $906.15 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.42% and a return on equity of 11.55%. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total transaction of $126,546.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,287. The trade was a 85.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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.

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.