US Bancorp DE Sells 391 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

US Bancorp DE lowered its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 4.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,376 shares of the company’s stock after selling 391 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 249,021 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,852,000 after purchasing an additional 10,456 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet in the 1st quarter valued at about $811,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,964,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Freshpet in the 1st quarter valued at about $854,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,299,000.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock opened at $156.45 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.33. The stock has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 175.79 and a beta of 1.39. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.85 and a 1 year high of $159.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 4.50 and a quick ratio of 3.69.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.72%. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.15) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the completion of 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRPT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.13.

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.