Commerce Bank Lowers Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Commerce Bank decreased its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,401 shares of the company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank owned approximately 0.10% of Freshpet worth $6,483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 13,709 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 749.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445,199 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of 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 period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after buying an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 period.

Freshpet Stock Up 2.3 %

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $156.57 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 $68.22 and a 52 week high of $159.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 175.92 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $141.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.12.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.15) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FRPT shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.80.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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 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 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 $12,046,320.39. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.