Champlain Investment Partners LLC Cuts Stake in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Champlain Investment Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,068,329 shares of the company’s stock after selling 336,432 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $31,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Central Garden & Pet by 164.0% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 444.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet during the second quarter valued at about $87,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position 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 valued at $195,000 after purchasing an additional 4,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Central Garden & Pet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 50.82% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Central Garden & Pet

In related news, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of Central Garden & Pet stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $428,766.10. This trade represents a 20.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.50, for a total value of $126,546.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,287. This represents a 85.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 20.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Central Garden & Pet Trading Down 1.9%

NASDAQ CENTA opened at $33.45 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.36 and a 200 day moving average of $30.51. Central Garden & Pet Company has a 1 year low of $25.97 and a 1 year high of $37.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 1.97.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $617.37 million for 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. Research analysts forecast that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CENTA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Central Garden & Pet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group raised Central Garden & Pet to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed 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, KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Central Garden & Pet in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Central Garden & Pet currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.75.

Central Garden & Pet Company 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.