Park Avenue Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $585,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Freshpet by 19.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 573 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA raised its holdings in Freshpet by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA now owns 3,580 shares of the company's stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 23.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 739 shares of the company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 6.7% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,740 shares of the company's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Freshpet 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Scott James Morris sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.13, for a total value of $790,650.00. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $19,351,949.40. This trade represents a 3.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,962,175. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Freshpet Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ:FRPT traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $158.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 452,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 501,915. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 177.56 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.98. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $84.02 and a 1 year high of $160.91.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $253.40 million during 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%. Freshpet's revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.15) EPS. Research analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRPT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Freshpet from $157.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.36.

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.