Baillie Gifford & Co. Purchases 1,318 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Baillie Gifford & Co. boosted its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,331 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,318 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. owned approximately 0.11% of Freshpet worth $7,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Freshpet by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,650,000 after purchasing an additional 13,709 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 749.7% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after buying an additional 2,445,199 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 923,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,492,000 after acquiring an additional 22,759 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 38.2% during the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 199,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,298,000 after acquiring an additional 55,200 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on FRPT shares. StockNews.com upgraded Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $156.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Freshpet Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $153.73 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $140.43 and its 200-day moving average is $131.55. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.14 and a 1 year high of $159.12. The company has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 172.73 and a beta of 1.39. 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 quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

About Freshpet

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.