Bridgewater Associates LP Trims Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,818 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 749.7% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,445,199 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Freshpet by 2.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 923,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,492,000 after acquiring an additional 22,759 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 24.4% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after acquiring an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Freshpet by 54.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,135,000 after acquiring an additional 154,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 38.2% during the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 199,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,298,000 after acquiring an additional 55,200 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $153.05 on Monday. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.37 and a fifty-two week high of $160.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $143.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 171.97 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The business had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.15) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,678 shares of company stock valued at $1,480,217 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.