AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Acquires Shares of 444,747 Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 444,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,225,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned approximately 0.91% of Freshpet at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 1,585.0% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Freshpet by 100.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 283.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on FRPT. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price objective (down from $81.00) on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 target price (down from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. DA Davidson set a $101.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Freshpet from $88.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Freshpet from $65.00 to $48.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jacki Sue Kelley bought 814 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 9th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $56.50 per share, with a total value of $45,991.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 11,907 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $672,745.50. This trade represents a 7.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Walter N. George bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.57 per share, with a total value of $52,570.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 46,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,445,924.39. This trade represents a 2.20% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 6,008 shares of company stock valued at $332,305 over the last three months. 4.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Freshpet Stock Up 3.1%

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $55.82 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.75, a current ratio of 4.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 83.31, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.74. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.76 and a 52 week high of $164.07.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $264.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $269.75 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 4.82%. Freshpet’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Freshpet has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

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.