Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank cut its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $6,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the third quarter worth $29,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter worth about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Freshpet by 3,670.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FRPT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.80.

Freshpet Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $156.57 on Friday. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.22 and a fifty-two week high of $159.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 175.92 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $141.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million for 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 quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share 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.