Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by Premier Fund Managers Ltd

Premier Fund Managers Ltd decreased its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 33.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,021 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,528 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd's holdings in Freshpet were worth $953,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Freshpet by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company's stock valued at $540,650,000 after buying an additional 13,709 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 749.7% during the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company's stock valued at $376,187,000 after buying an additional 2,445,199 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Freshpet by 2.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 923,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $119,492,000 after buying an additional 22,759 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 24.4% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $93,327,000 after buying an additional 141,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 38.2% in the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 199,592 shares of the company's stock worth $27,298,000 after purchasing an additional 55,200 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ FRPT traded down $3.12 on Wednesday, hitting $153.26. 96,901 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 581,052. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.22 and a 52-week high of $159.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 175.71 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $141.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.98.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 3.67%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.15) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FRPT. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Freshpet from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Freshpet from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $157.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. This represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were 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. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Freshpet 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.