Blair William & Co. IL Purchases 11,078 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. by 508.9%, acquiring 11,078 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total to 13,255 shares worth approximately $1,102,000.
• Several hedge funds have also boosted their stakes, with Riverbridge Partners LLC and Principal Financial Group Inc. increasing their holdings by 18.0% and 124.0% respectively in the same quarter.
• Freshpet reported earnings of $0.33 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, alongside a 12.5% year-over-year revenue growth, although their revenue fell slightly short of expectations.

Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 508.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,255 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 11,078 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. Riverbridge Partners LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. Riverbridge Partners LLC now owns 1,026,829 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,401,000 after buying an additional 156,583 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 124.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 241,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,060,000 after purchasing an additional 133,539 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 267.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 155,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,045,000 after purchasing an additional 113,200 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 143.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 173,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,669,000 after purchasing an additional 102,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $14,678,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRPT has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen lowered shares of Freshpet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $96.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $95.00 price target (down from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $90.00 price target on shares of Freshpet and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $116.64.

Freshpet Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $62.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 93.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.77. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.27 and a 52-week high of $164.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a current ratio of 4.81. The company's 50 day moving average price is $71.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.70.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $264.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.75 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.82%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.03) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.

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