CENT President John D. Walker III Receives Award, Sells Shares

What Happened
John D. Walker III, President of Garden Consumer Products at Central Garden & Pet Co. (CENT), received an award of 2,814 shares (grant) on 2026-01-30 at $0.00. On the same date he delivered 976 shares at $30.22 each (total value reported $29,495) to satisfy withholding tax obligations tied to the award.

Key Details

• Transaction date: 2026-01-30.
• Award (code A): 2,814 shares granted at $0.00.
• Tax withholding (code F): 976 shares delivered/disposed at $30.22/share for $29,495.
• Shares owned after transaction: not specified in the filing.
• Footnotes: F1 — shares were delivered by the reporting person to pay withholding tax upon settlement of performance share units; F2 — units represent interests in the CENTA Stock Fund of the issuer’s 401(k) Plan (consisting of CENTA stock and cash).
• Filing timeliness: Report filed 2026-02-02; this appears to be timely (within the required Section 16 reporting window).

Context
This was a routine settlement of performance/share units with shares withheld to cover taxes (a common cashless withholding method). The award increases raw grant exposure but the delivered shares reduce net new shares received — these actions are administrative and do not, by themselves, signal a buy or sell view on the stock.