SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 5,845 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 68.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,740 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,845 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 2,740,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,558,000 after buying an additional 110,383 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp Et Al purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,621,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,118,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,576,000 after buying an additional 17,678 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 21,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after buying an additional 4,689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,254,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,617,000 after buying an additional 73,393 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRPT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 30th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 21st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.36.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In related news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total transaction of $284,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,921,948.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.76, for a total transaction of $284,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,921,948.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total transaction of $773,818.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,762 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,280. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Freshpet stock opened at $112.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a current ratio of 4.79. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.60 and a fifty-two week high of $117.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $104.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -158.45 and a beta of 1.23.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.22. Freshpet had a negative net margin of 4.38% and a negative return on equity of 3.56%. The company had revenue of $215.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.06) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.