Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 21.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,388 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,943 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.30% of Freshpet worth $21,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Freshpet by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $805,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 573 shares of the company's stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Freshpet by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,350 shares of the company's stock worth $1,977,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRPT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Freshpet from $102.00 to $91.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $195.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $110.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $125.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $139.47.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Freshpet stock opened at $74.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $72.20 and a 52-week high of $164.07. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.41 and a beta of 1.80. The company has a 50 day moving average of $87.39 and a 200 day moving average of $126.59.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The firm had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.46 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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.

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