Norges Bank Takes Position in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 607,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,045,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at $2,526,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 880,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,637,000 after buying an additional 27,095 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in Freshpet by 62.0% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 83,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,058,000 after buying an additional 31,759 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 295,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,018,000 after buying an additional 7,550 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.88.

Freshpet Price Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $51.40 on Tuesday. 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 6.18, a quick ratio of 5.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Craig D. Steeneck bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $47.83 per share, for a total transaction of $95,660.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 37,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,793,625. This trade represents a 5.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William B. Cyr sold 42,495 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.03, for a total transaction of $2,168,519.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 224,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,454,142.77. This trade represents a 15.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 4,211 shares of company stock valued at $215,027 and sold 235,262 shares valued at $11,664,591. 4.30% of the stock is 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.