Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC Trims Stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,480 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,370 shares during the quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Freshpet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,090,000 after buying an additional 46,844 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,881,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,809,000 after purchasing an additional 110,478 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Freshpet by 4.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,650,000 after purchasing an additional 37,287 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $75,253,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 198.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,065,000 after purchasing an additional 253,679 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on FRPT shares. Oppenheimer cut shares of Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.67.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $84.39 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $118.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.75. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.27 and a 1-year high of $164.07. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.78 and a beta of 1.58.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The firm had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $275.46 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. Analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS 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.