Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA Stock Holdings Boosted by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 6.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 884,784 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 53,351 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.41% of Central Garden & Pet worth $26,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of CENTA. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 164.0% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $87,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 239.5% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet during the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Institutional investors own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Central Garden & Pet

In other 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 directly owned 646 shares in the company, valued at $22,287. This represents a 85.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total value of $108,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $428,766.10. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 20.28% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on CENTA shares. CJS Securities upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.75.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of CENTA opened at $34.09 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.97, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. Central Garden & Pet Company has a twelve month low of $25.97 and a twelve month high of $37.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.27 and a 200-day moving average of $30.51.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $617.37 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet had a net margin of 5.04% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Central Garden & Pet Profile

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.