Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 842 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.08% of Freshpet worth $5,624,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the third quarter valued at about $1,465,000. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Freshpet by 166.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 84,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,519,000 after buying an additional 52,584 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,299,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Freshpet by 54.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,135,000 after buying an additional 154,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMI Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the second quarter valued at approximately $397,000.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $146.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 165.05 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.36. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $82.16 and a 1 year high of $160.91.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The company had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.15) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total value of $786,900.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,260,164.40. This represents a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total transaction of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,962,175. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on FRPT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a report on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.80.

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.