Sanctuary Advisors LLC Takes Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 3,670.0% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at about $52,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the third quarter valued at about $54,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 275.2% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $146.36 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.21. The stock has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 164.45 and a beta of 1.41. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.16 and a fifty-two week high of $160.91. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.15) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FRPT. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.36.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total transaction of $786,900.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,260,164.40. This trade represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,962,175 over the last 90 days. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freshpet Company 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.