Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $10.79 Million Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 14.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,914 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,505 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.16% of Freshpet worth $10,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 1st quarter worth about $244,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Freshpet by 5,447.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,234,000 after acquiring an additional 10,459 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Freshpet by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 47,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,560,000 after acquiring an additional 1,309 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Freshpet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,650,000 after acquiring an additional 13,709 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 1st quarter worth about $185,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freshpet news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on FRPT. StockNews.com upgraded Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.80.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock opened at $150.00 on Monday. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.14 and a 52-week high of $159.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 168.54 and a beta of 1.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.