Blue Trust Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 2,770.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 775 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 748 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,650,000 after purchasing an additional 13,709 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Freshpet by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 923,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,492,000 after purchasing an additional 22,759 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,327,000 after buying an additional 141,615 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 249,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,852,000 after buying an additional 10,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the first quarter valued at approximately $17,845,000.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,320.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRPT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Freshpet from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $145.87.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $134.08 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $137.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 4.50 and a quick ratio of 3.69. The company has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a PE ratio of 744.89 and a beta of 1.39. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.60 and a 1-year high of $145.68.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.06. Freshpet had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 1.78%. The business had revenue of $235.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.99 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.35) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freshpet Profile

Freshpet, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and markets natural fresh meals and treats for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells dog food, cat food, and dog treats under the Freshpet brand name; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online.