Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 28,743 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 36.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 107,657 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,743 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $15,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the fourth quarter worth about $85,000. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its position in Freshpet by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 14,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,099,000 after buying an additional 2,811 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Freshpet by 198.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after buying an additional 253,679 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $59,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the president now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,260,164.40. The trade was a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FRPT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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 cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $165.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.47.

Freshpet Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $107.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.87 and a beta of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $143.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.83. 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 $97.48 and a 12-month high of $164.07.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The business had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. Research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 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.