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

Key Points

• Insider sale: John Walker III sold 5,000 Central Garden & Pet shares at an average price of $38.50, reducing his holdings by 7.18% to 64,679 shares.
• Quarterly results: The company reported adjusted EPS of $1.54, narrowly exceeding estimates, while revenue reached $883.72 million but declined 8.2% year over year.
• Market outlook: Shares recently traded at $44.59, and analysts maintain an average “Buy” rating with a $54 price target; institutional investors own 16.13% of the stock.

Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) insider John Walker III sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.50, for a total value of $192,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 64,679 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,490,141.50. This trade represents a 7.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Central Garden & Pet Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CENT traded up $0.45 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.59. 108,844 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 80,358. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a current ratio of 3.79. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 1-year low of $28.77 and a 1-year high of $46.97. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $43.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.34.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.01. Central Garden & Pet had a return on equity of 11.13% and a net margin of 5.39%.The business had revenue of $883.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $882.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. Central Garden & Pet's revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Central Garden & Pet has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.850- EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Central Garden & Pet

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 84.5% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 38,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,225,000 after buying an additional 17,457 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 63,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,037,000 after acquiring an additional 13,851 shares in the last quarter. Stenger Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the first quarter worth about $877,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 59.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 181,787 shares of the company's stock worth $6,684,000 after acquiring an additional 67,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the first quarter worth about $251,000. Institutional investors own 16.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several 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 research report on Friday, July 10th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Central Garden & Pet from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $54.00.

Central Garden & Pet Company Profile

Central Garden & Pet NASDAQ: CENT is a leading North American specialty retailer, manufacturer and distributor serving the lawn and garden and pet supplies markets. The company operates through two primary segments: Pet and Garden. In the Pet segment, Central Garden & Pet offers a comprehensive range of products including pet food, treats, accessories, training products and habitat solutions for dogs, cats, birds, fish and small animals. The Garden segment encompasses a wide array of lawn, garden and outdoor living products, such as soils, fertilizers, planters, pest control solutions, landscape lighting and watering equipment.

Central Garden & Pet's product portfolio includes both proprietary and branded offerings.

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