Natixis Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 10,479 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,433,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in FRPT. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 41.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Freshpet by 13.9% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,305 shares of the company's stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Freshpet by 6.7% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,740 shares of the company's stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Freshpet by 0.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 24,869 shares of the company's stock worth $3,401,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 65.9% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 496 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRPT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com cut Freshpet from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.80.

Freshpet Price Performance

Freshpet stock traded down $2.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $153.24. 323,198 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 580,629. 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 12 month low of $68.22 and a 12 month high of $160.91. The stock's fifty day moving average is $143.27 and its 200-day moving average is $134.22. The stock has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 175.19 and a beta of 1.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,046,320.39. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,678 shares of company stock valued at $1,480,217. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.