Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 611 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its holdings in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 0.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 224,522 shares of the company’s stock after selling 611 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $29,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the first quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Freshpet by 3,670.0% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 367 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,320.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Freshpet from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Freshpet from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Freshpet from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.87.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $141.24 on Friday. Freshpet, Inc. has a one year low of $54.60 and a one year high of $144.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 4.50 and a quick ratio of 3.69. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 784.67 and a beta of 1.39.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $235.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $230.99 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 1.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 28.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.35) earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Freshpet 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.