Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,532,833 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 79,745 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 3.19% of Freshpet worth $101,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FRPT. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 873.8% during the 1st quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet in the first quarter worth about $66,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 130.8% in the first quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 1,018 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 1st quarter worth about $143,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 51.1% during the 1st quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 2,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the period.

Freshpet Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of FRPT opened at $74.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 6.29 and a quick ratio of 5.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.01. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.02 and a 1 year high of $84.70.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.35) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $183.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $184.71 million. Freshpet had a negative net margin of 9.45% and a negative return on equity of 6.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.45) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Freshpet from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $78.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Freshpet from $75.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $55.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $78.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Freshpet from $71.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Walter N. George acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 24th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $73.53 per share, for a total transaction of $73,530.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 47,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,468,851.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet, Inc manufactures and markets natural fresh meals and treats for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company sells its products under the Freshpet brand; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online.