Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by Cetera Trust Company N.A

Cetera Trust Company N.A trimmed its holdings in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,040 shares of the company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Freshpet by 749.7% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,445,199 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 391.5% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,090,000 after purchasing an additional 186,889 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Freshpet by 54.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,135,000 after purchasing an additional 154,909 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Freshpet by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after buying an additional 141,615 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,902,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on FRPT shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total transaction of $786,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,260,164.40. This trade represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,500 shares of company stock worth $1,962,175. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $156.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 175.81 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.85. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $84.02 and a 12 month high of $160.91.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its 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 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. Research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current year.

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.