John Walker III Sells 5,000 Shares of Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) Stock

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) insider John Walker III sold 5,000 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total transaction of $192,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 64,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,490,141.50. The trade was a 7.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Central Garden & Pet stock opened at $38.57 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 3.79 and a quick ratio of 2.67. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 1 year low of $25.97 and a 1 year high of $40.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.96.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.03. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.39% and a return on equity of 11.13%. The business had revenue of $882.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $882.96 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 3 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CENTA. Zacks Research lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Central Garden & Pet from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Central Garden & Pet from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered 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 note on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.67.

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.