American Century Companies Inc. Buys 142,319 Shares of Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,892,120 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 142,319 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.01% of Central Garden & Pet worth $55,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in CENTA. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. EMC Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $87,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 4,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the second quarter valued at approximately $214,000. 50.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Central Garden & Pet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CENTA opened at $32.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 1.97 and a current ratio of 3.42. Central Garden & Pet Company has a fifty-two week low of $25.97 and a fifty-two week high of $37.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.51 and a 200-day moving average of $30.55.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $617.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.62 million. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 5.04%.Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.700- EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $126,546.00. Following the sale, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.38, for a total transaction of $108,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $428,766.10. The trade was a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. CJS Securities upgraded Central Garden & Pet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $28.00 price target (down from $31.00) on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.75.

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.