Fifth Third Bancorp Trims Stock Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,573 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,199 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 119.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 69,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,876,000 after acquiring an additional 37,702 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Freshpet by 275.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 439 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Freshpet during the second quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 29.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $162.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91. The company has a market cap of $7.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 182.69 and a beta of 1.41. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.02 and a 1 year high of $164.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.21.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.15) earnings per share. Freshpet’s revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total transaction of $786,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,260,164.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,962,175. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.36.

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.