O Neil Global Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

O Neil Global Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,807 shares during the period. Freshpet accounts for 0.4% of O Neil Global Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. O Neil Global Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in Freshpet during the 4th quarter valued at $110,000. First Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 4,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $685,000 after buying an additional 666 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 13,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Freshpet by 35.1% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 3,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $538,000 after acquiring an additional 944 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Freshpet by 21.8% during the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 243,187 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,018,000 after acquiring an additional 43,595 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In related news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.38, for a total value of $786,900.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,260,164.40. The trade was a 3.93 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FRPT shares. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.29.

Freshpet Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $106.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $87.87 and a 52 week high of $164.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $146.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $143.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a PE ratio of 119.54 and a beta of 1.42.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.