Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 67.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,655 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 49,201 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $3,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CENTA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Central Garden & Pet by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,804,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $169,437,000 after acquiring an additional 20,819 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 3.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,174,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,034,000 after acquiring an additional 73,755 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,123,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,984,000 after purchasing an additional 738,860 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Central Garden & Pet by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,038,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,317,000 after purchasing an additional 17,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 964,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,150,000 after purchasing an additional 129,496 shares during the period. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Central Garden & Pet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.67.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of CENTA opened at $37.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.45, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 12 month low of $25.97 and a 12 month high of $39.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $37.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.34. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.57.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $906.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 5.42%.Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Analysts predict that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.89 earnings per share 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.