Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP reduced its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,500 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $3,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 18.5% in the third quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 13,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,861,000 after acquiring an additional 2,121 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 24,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its position in Freshpet by 166.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 84,221 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,519,000 after purchasing an additional 52,584 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Freshpet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 51,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,021,000 after buying an additional 1,318 shares during the period.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $150.49 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 169.09 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.65. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.22 and a 52-week high of $159.12. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. The company 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 for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet 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. 3.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.