Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 3,056 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,657 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,056 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.19% of Freshpet worth $13,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter valued at about $817,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 107,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,945,000 after acquiring an additional 28,743 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,650,000 after acquiring an additional 37,287 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 198.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,065,000 after acquiring an additional 253,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 135,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,088,000 after acquiring an additional 2,291 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Freshpet stock opened at $87.84 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.27 and a fifty-two week high of $164.07. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 93.45 and a beta of 1.58.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The company had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Freshpet from $154.00 to $102.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.67.

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.