Capital World Investors Raises Position in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,587,691 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 104,913 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned 3.25% of Freshpet worth $96,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Freshpet by 86.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 67,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,624,000 after purchasing an additional 31,334 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Freshpet by 734.1% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the first quarter valued at approximately $247,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 1,388.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 140.3% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 6,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $428,000 after purchasing an additional 3,676 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In related news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 42,907 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total value of $2,056,103.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 204,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,803,713.20. This represents a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 4,211 shares of company stock valued at $215,027 and sold 235,262 shares valued at $11,664,591. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FRPT shares. Benchmark upped their price objective on Freshpet from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America reduced their price target on Freshpet from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Freshpet from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Freshpet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.88.

Freshpet Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $51.15 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 5.26 and a current ratio of 6.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $57.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.90. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.45 and a fifty-two week high of $86.00. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 1.63.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.