Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA Shares Sold by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,000,206 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,257 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 1.60% of Central Garden & Pet worth $29,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 164.0% in the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Central Garden & Pet in the third quarter worth $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 198.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 239.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $195,000 after buying an additional 4,388 shares during the period. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on CENTA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Central Garden & Pet from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Central Garden & Pet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.00.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of CENTA opened at $36.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37 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 Company has a one year low of $25.97 and a one year high of $37.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.00 and its 200-day moving average is $32.23.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced 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. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.55% and a net margin of 5.42%.The business had revenue of $906.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $846.58 million. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.83 EPS for the current 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.