Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP decreased its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,500 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.06% of Freshpet worth $3,898,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Freshpet in the third quarter valued at $29,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet during the second quarter worth about $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 41.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 3,670.0% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 367 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.80.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 value of $384,625.00. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at $12,046,320.39. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.3 %

Freshpet stock opened at $150.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 169.09 and a beta of 1.39. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $141.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.65. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.22 and a 1-year high of $159.12.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $253.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 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.