By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT – Free Report) by 38.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,667 shares of the company’s stock after selling 23,834 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $5,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Freshpet by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,090,000 after purchasing an additional 46,844 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,881,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,809,000 after buying an additional 110,478 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 844,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,446,000 after buying an additional 9,081 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth $75,253,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 198.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after acquiring an additional 253,679 shares in the last quarter.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $102.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Oppenheimer cut Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Freshpet from $142.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.47.
Get Our Latest Report on Freshpet
Freshpet Price Performance
NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $81.24 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 86.43 and a beta of 1.80. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.90 and a 12-month high of $164.07. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $98.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $130.41.
Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The firm had revenue of $262.71 million for 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%. Research analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.
Freshpet Company 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.
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