Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Acquired by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 18.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,606 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,121 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,861,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Freshpet by 41.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Freshpet by 3,670.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of FRPT opened at $150.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 169.47 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $140.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $131.68. 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 12 month low of $68.14 and a 12 month high of $159.12.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freshpet news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Freshpet 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.