KBC Group NV Has $3.40 Million Stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,869 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.05% of Freshpet worth $3,401,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the 1st quarter valued at $811,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at about $3,964,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Freshpet during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,299,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Freshpet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,650,000 after purchasing an additional 13,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Freshpet in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,465,000.

Freshpet Trading Down 0.6 %

FRPT stock opened at $150.00 on Monday. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.14 and a 52 week high of $159.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $140.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 168.54 and a beta of 1.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.15) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was 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. Insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on FRPT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.80.

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.