Blue Trust Inc. Boosts Stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 62.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,259 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 484 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FRPT. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 749.7% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445,199 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 4.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,650,000 after buying an additional 37,287 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Freshpet by 54.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,135,000 after acquiring an additional 154,909 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Freshpet by 391.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,090,000 after acquiring an additional 186,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 199,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,298,000 after acquiring an additional 55,200 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on FRPT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.36.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total value of $790,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,351,949.40. The trade was a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,962,175. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $155.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 174.86 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $151.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.25. Freshpet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.02 and a twelve month high of $164.07.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.15) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Freshpet

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.