Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 33,078 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 11.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 335,097 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,078 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $49,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at about $817,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Freshpet by 36.4% during 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,088,000 after acquiring an additional 2,291 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 406.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 53,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,860,000 after purchasing an additional 42,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 253,679 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FRPT. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Freshpet from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Freshpet from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Freshpet from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.73.

Freshpet Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $80.47 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.19 and a fifty-two week high of $164.07. The company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 85.61 and a beta of 1.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.28.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $263.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.57 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The business’s revenue was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.