Mangrove Partners IM LLC Decreases Stake in Central Garden & Pet Company $CENTA

Mangrove Partners IM LLC cut its stake in shares of Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENTA) by 63.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 178,712 shares of the company’s stock after selling 314,344 shares during the period. Central Garden & Pet comprises approximately 0.4% of Mangrove Partners IM LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Mangrove Partners IM LLC’s holdings in Central Garden & Pet were worth $5,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CENTA. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 15.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $605,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 56.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 48,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,585,000 after acquiring an additional 17,556 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Central Garden & Pet by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 179.2% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 180,907 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,921,000 after purchasing an additional 116,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Central Garden & Pet by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 263,518 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,625,000 after purchasing an additional 12,749 shares during the last quarter. 50.82% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Central Garden & Pet Stock Up 1.0%

CENTA stock opened at $32.14 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 1.97 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $31.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.54.

Central Garden & Pet (NASDAQ:CENTA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $617.37 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. Research analysts expect that Central Garden & Pet Company will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Central Garden & Pet news, Director John Ranelli sold 3,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 646 shares in the company, valued at $22,287. This represents a 85.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Brendan Dougher sold 3,250 shares of the company’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 owned 12,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $428,766.10. This represents a 20.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 20.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.