Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 46,844 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,652,556 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,844 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Freshpet worth $689,090,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Freshpet during the 4th quarter valued at about $817,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Freshpet by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,945,000 after acquiring an additional 28,743 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,650,000 after acquiring an additional 37,287 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Freshpet by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,088,000 after purchasing an additional 2,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 253,679 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Down 2.6 %

FRPT stock opened at $84.39 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $118.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.75. The stock has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.78 and a beta of 1.58. 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 twelve month low of $80.27 and a twelve month high of $164.07.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.67.

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.