Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Position in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its stake in Freshpet by 107.4% in Q4, adding 100,260 shares to hold 193,584 shares—about 0.40% of the company, valued at roughly $11.8 million.
• Freshpet beat Q4 EPS expectations ($0.64 vs. $0.43) while reporting revenue of $285.23 million (essentially in line) and quarterly revenue growth of 8.6% year‑over‑year.
• Wall Street sentiment is a Moderate Buy (10 Buys, 7 Holds, 1 Sell) with a consensus target price of $76.44, amid mixed recent price‑target revisions between about $62 and $93.

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 107.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 193,584 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 100,260 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.40% of Freshpet worth $11,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 143.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 503 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1,388.2% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ossiam now owns 509 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Benchmark raised their price objective on Freshpet from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $84.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.44.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $65.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 5.54 and a quick ratio of 4.57. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $69.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 1.78. Freshpet, Inc. has a one year low of $46.76 and a one year high of $89.80.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $285.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $285.66 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 12.63%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.36 EPS. Analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

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.

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