Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Stake in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 152.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,747 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,497 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Freshpet by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,281,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,822,000 after acquiring an additional 128,499 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 4,141,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,179,000 after purchasing an additional 204,128 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,952,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,982,000 after purchasing an additional 461,444 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,587,691 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,738,000 after purchasing an additional 104,913 shares during the period. Finally, Armistice Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,296,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,965,000 after purchasing an additional 61,198 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 42,907 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total transaction of $2,056,103.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 204,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,803,713.20. This represents a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 4,211 shares of company stock worth $215,027 and sold 235,262 shares worth $11,664,591. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 target price on Freshpet in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Freshpet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, DA Davidson raised Freshpet to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.25.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $57.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 5.26, a current ratio of 6.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.62. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.45 and a 52-week high of $86.00.

Freshpet Profile

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.