Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Bought by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 915,827 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 245,403 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 1.90% of Freshpet worth $79,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 5.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,576,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,588,000 after buying an additional 185,210 shares during the last quarter. JANA Partners Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the third quarter valued at about $214,405,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 4.2% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,740,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,558,000 after buying an additional 110,383 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 0.8% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,118,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,576,000 after buying an additional 17,678 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 6.2% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,254,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,617,000 after buying an additional 73,393 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRPT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $104.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, December 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $67.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $107.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,231,127.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,231,127.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total transaction of $280,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,709,007.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 15,762 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,280. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freshpet Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $104.75 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 4.79 and a quick ratio of 4.08. The firm has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of -147.54 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $106.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.03. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.60 and a 1-year high of $117.76.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.93 million. Freshpet had a negative net margin of 4.38% and a negative return on equity of 3.56%. Freshpet’s revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.06) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

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.