Country Trust Bank Cuts Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Country Trust Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 236,789 shares of the company’s stock after selling 35,167 shares during the quarter. Country Trust Bank owned approximately 0.49% of Freshpet worth $14,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Freshpet by 143.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 503 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Freshpet by 55.0% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Freshpet by 445.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 529 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Freshpet by 1,388.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Freshpet in the second quarter valued at about $34,000.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $59.01 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.78. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.76 and a 52 week high of $89.80. The company has a quick ratio of 4.57, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.21. Freshpet had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 12.63%.The firm had revenue of $285.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRPT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded Freshpet from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $65.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Freshpet Company 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.