Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $1.93 Million Stock Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,000 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,925,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 302.0% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Freshpet in the third quarter worth $54,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter worth $59,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRPT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $180.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.47.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of FRPT opened at $107.04 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.87 and a beta of 1.42. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $97.48 and a 52 week high of $164.07.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The business had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were 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 owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,260,164.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.