Headlands Technologies LLC Cuts Stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Headlands Technologies LLC cut its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 14.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,783 shares of the company’s stock after selling 296 shares during the quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Freshpet by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the first quarter worth $41,000.

Freshpet Price Performance

Freshpet stock opened at $139.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 3.69 and a current ratio of 4.50. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 777.21 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.22. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.60 and a 1 year high of $143.06.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on FRPT shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on Freshpet from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $113.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.87.

About Freshpet

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.