Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,066,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FRPT. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Freshpet by 302.0% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 130.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 217 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc bought a new stake in Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FRPT. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $135.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Freshpet from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Freshpet from $142.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $139.47.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $75.12 on Friday. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $72.20 and a 1 year high of $164.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.91 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $88.54 and its 200 day moving average is $127.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The firm had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

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.