Prudential Financial Inc. Buys 696 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,480 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 696 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Freshpet in the 4th quarter worth $817,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,945,000 after purchasing an additional 28,743 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,650,000 after purchasing an additional 37,287 shares during 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 period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 198.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,065,000 after buying an additional 253,679 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRPT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their price target on Freshpet from $140.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Freshpet from $142.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued 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 price target of $146.53.

Freshpet Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of FRPT opened at $79.49 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 84.56 and a beta of 1.80. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.15 and a 1 year high of $164.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.79.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freshpet 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.