WINTON GROUP Ltd Acquires 95,806 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its Freshpet stake by 456% in the second quarter, purchasing 95,806 additional shares to hold 116,816 shares valued at approximately $6.9 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Freshpet receiving a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $75.31. Price targets range from $70 to $95, while JPMorgan raised its target to $72.
• Freshpet exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting adjusted EPS of $0.39 versus the $0.22 consensus and revenue of $305.59 million, up 15.4% year over year. Meanwhile, company insiders sold 171,636 shares worth about $12.75 million during the quarter.

WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 456.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,816 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 95,806 shares during the quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd owned approximately 0.24% of Freshpet worth $6,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 606.8% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 55.0% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on FRPT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Freshpet from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $72.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Freshpet from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.31.

Insider Activity

In other Freshpet news, CEO William Cyr sold 41,022 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.86, for a total transaction of $2,988,862.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,464,694.72. This represents a 13.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 171,636 shares of company stock worth $12,754,864. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $67.21 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $64.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.86. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.45 and a 1-year high of $86.00. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 1.66.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%.The company had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 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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