First Bank & Trust Acquires 666 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

First Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,622 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 666 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Freshpet by 749.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445,199 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Freshpet by 198.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after purchasing an additional 253,679 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Freshpet by 391.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 234,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,090,000 after purchasing an additional 186,889 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Freshpet by 54.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,135,000 after purchasing an additional 154,909 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Freshpet by 38.2% in the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 199,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,298,000 after purchasing an additional 55,200 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total transaction of $790,650.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,351,949.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Freshpet Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $130.35 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 146.47 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.87 and a 1 year high of $164.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $147.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FRPT. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.29.

About Freshpet

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.