GW&K Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

GW&K Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 6.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 231,863 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,733 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $12,778,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 64.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 10,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after acquiring an additional 4,075 shares during the last quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 190,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,487,000 after acquiring an additional 23,768 shares during the period. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 77,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 288,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,881,000 after purchasing an additional 3,225 shares during the period.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRPT opened at $82.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 4.57 and a current ratio of 5.54. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $70.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.94. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.76 and a fifty-two week high of $97.00.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.21. Freshpet had a return on equity of 6.93% and a net margin of 12.63%.The company had revenue of $285.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.66 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Freshpet’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FRPT. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freshpet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Freshpet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $62.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $60.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $82.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.47.

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.