KBC Group NV Has $3.40 Million Stock Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

KBC Group NV raised its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 0.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,869 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $3,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 166.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 84,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,519,000 after acquiring an additional 52,584 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the third quarter valued at about $77,000. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 2.6% during the third quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 51,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,021,000 after purchasing an additional 1,318 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 34.3% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 4,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 1,101 shares during the period. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Freshpet by 749.7% in the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,187,000 after buying an additional 2,445,199 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRPT has been the subject of several analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.80.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $150.00 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 168.54 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.34. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.14 and a 12-month high of $159.12.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The business’s revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.15) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.