Wellington Management Group LLP Boosts Position in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 11.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,829,688 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 298,460 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 5.76% of Freshpet worth $167,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 606.8% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Freshpet in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1,388.2% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $69.86 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 5.03, a current ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.90. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.45 and a 52 week high of $86.00.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $305.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.35 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%.The firm’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 2,657 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.40, for a total transaction of $200,337.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 49,044 shares in the company, valued at $3,697,917.60. This trade represents a 5.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 171,636 shares of company stock worth $12,754,864. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on FRPT. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Freshpet from $101.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.31.

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.