** Shares of pet food maker Freshpet FRPT.O fall 4.8% to $78.92

** Brokerages J.P.Morgan and Stifel cut FRPT's price target

** J.P.Morgan cuts PT to $91 from $102

** JPM says it is concerned about the rate of change of consumption trends, including among lower- and middle-income consumers, and household penetration

** Increasingly worried that shipments will fall short of tracked consumption this quarter thanks to the challenges of an important middleman distributor, Animal Supply Company, JPM says

** Brokerage Stifel cuts PT to $115 from $135

** Weakening sales trends reflect heightened volatility in the dog food category but also modestly weakening household penetration in recent quarters, Stifel says

** Stifel also thinks FRPT's Q1 sales will be impacted by a distributor change in the pet specialty channel

** Up to last close, stock was down 44% YTD

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City)

((Juby.Babu@thomsonreuters.com;))