Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $4.55 Million Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,764 shares of the company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.14% of Freshpet worth $4,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet in the 1st quarter worth about $66,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 130.8% during the 1st quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 1,018 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 1st quarter valued at about $143,000. Finally, Capital Impact Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital Impact Advisors LLC now owns 3,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $75.74 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.81. The company has a current ratio of 6.29, a quick ratio of 5.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.02 and a 12 month high of $84.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -57.38 and a beta of 0.99.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.35) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $183.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $184.71 million. Freshpet had a negative return on equity of 6.39% and a negative net margin of 9.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.45) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post -1 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FRPT shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Freshpet from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, August 8th. VNET Group reissued a “maintains” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, May 5th. Stephens increased their target price on Freshpet from $75.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded 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 note on Tuesday, August 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Walter N. George bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 47,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,468,851.28. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freshpet 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.