Patten Group Inc. Invests $445,000 in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Patten Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT – Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its stake in Freshpet by 41.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,839,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,921,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,217 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 151.8% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,482,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,716,000 after purchasing an additional 893,949 shares during the last quarter. Armistice Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 118.4% during the third quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 1,234,802 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,050,000 after purchasing an additional 669,399 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 39.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,196,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,145,000 after purchasing an additional 336,524 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JANA Partners Management LP boosted its position in shares of Freshpet by 4.1% during the third quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 1,048,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,763,000 after buying an additional 41,373 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $69.11 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $70.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.17. Freshpet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.76 and a twelve month high of $89.80. The company has a quick ratio of 4.57, a current ratio of 5.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 26.89 and a beta of 1.78.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.21. Freshpet had a net margin of 12.63% and a return on equity of 6.93%. The company had revenue of $285.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.66 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FRPT shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $90.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Freshpet from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $71.00 to $90.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Ten equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.94.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on FRPT

About Freshpet

(Free Report)

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.

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