The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Invests $737,000 in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 12,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $737,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in Freshpet by 606.8% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 55.0% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 1,388.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 506 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO William Cyr sold 41,022 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.86, for a total value of $2,988,862.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 267,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,464,694.72. The trade was a 13.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 171,636 shares of company stock valued at $12,754,864 in the last three months. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freshpet Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $70.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 6.05 and a quick ratio of 5.03. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.45 and a 12 month high of $86.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.00.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $305.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $292.35 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.28% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The company’s revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FRPT shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $72.00 target price (down from $77.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.31.

Freshpet Company 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.