B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Takes Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 34,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,751,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG owned 0.07% of Freshpet at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Freshpet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,650,000 after buying an additional 13,709 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 749.7% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445,199 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Freshpet by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 923,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,492,000 after purchasing an additional 22,759 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company's stock worth $93,327,000 after buying an additional 141,615 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 199,592 shares of the company's stock worth $27,298,000 after buying an additional 55,200 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Freshpet from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $157.80.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT traded down $3.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $153.00. The stock had a trading volume of 419,650 shares, compared to its average volume of 582,486. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.43 billion, a PE ratio of 171.91 and a beta of 1.39. 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 $68.22 and a 12 month high of $159.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $141.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.12.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The business had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.15) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 EPS 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.