Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 13,505 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,914 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,505 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Freshpet worth $10,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company's stock worth $540,650,000 after purchasing an additional 13,709 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 923,507 shares of the company's stock worth $119,492,000 after buying an additional 22,759 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Freshpet by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 147,407 shares of the company's stock worth $19,073,000 after buying an additional 2,633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 9.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 127,706 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,466,000 after buying an additional 11,494 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FRPT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.80.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRPT traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $150.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 288,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 582,521. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $140.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.34. The company has a current ratio of 4.72, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 168.54 and a beta of 1.39. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.22 and a 12-month high of $159.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freshpet Company 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.