Freedom Investment Management Inc. Buys Shares of 1,594 Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FRPT. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Freshpet by 749.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445,199 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Freshpet by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,135,000 after acquiring an additional 154,909 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 24.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after acquiring an additional 141,615 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter worth about $8,892,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter worth about $8,902,000.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $153.05 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 171.97 and a beta of 1.39. 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 1 year low of $69.37 and a 1 year high of $160.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $143.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.75.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.15) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,678 shares of company stock valued at $1,480,217. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.