Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 91,204 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lowered its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 6.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,232,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 91,204 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $182,558,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRPT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,652,556 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,090,000 after buying an additional 46,844 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,881,855 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,809,000 after purchasing an additional 110,478 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 835,663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,650,000 after purchasing an additional 37,287 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Freshpet in the fourth quarter worth $75,253,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 198.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 381,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,065,000 after purchasing an additional 253,679 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $170.00 to $142.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $140.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.67.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $84.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 89.86 and a beta of 1.58. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.27 and a 12-month high of $164.07. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.25 and a 200-day moving average of $134.96.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $275.46 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, and markets natural fresh meals and treats for dogs and cats in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It sells dog food, cat food, and dog treats under the Freshpet brand name; and Dognation and Dog Joy labels through various classes of retail, including grocery, mass, club, pet specialty, and natural, as well as online.