398,975 Shares in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT Acquired by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 398,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,587,000. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.81% of Freshpet as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Optimize Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 10,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 214 shares during the period. Finally, Ossiam raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 81.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ossiam now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the period.

Freshpet Price Performance

Freshpet stock opened at $73.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.78. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.45 and a 12-month high of $86.00. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $305.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.35 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FRPT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Freshpet from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, August 2nd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 3,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.41, for a total value of $220,488.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 33,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,425,952.23. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freshpet Profile

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.