California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 10,659 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 64,718 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,659 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $5,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RiverPark Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 617.3% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter valued at $59,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter worth $206,000. Finally, Wealth Alliance purchased a new position in Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth $217,000.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $109.58 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of -154.34 and a beta of 1.24. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.60 and a 52-week high of $117.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $88.86. The company has a quick ratio of 4.08, a current ratio of 4.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $204.93 million. Freshpet had a negative return on equity of 3.56% and a negative net margin of 4.38%. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.06) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.07 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FRPT shares. Truist Financial raised Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $120.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $104.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $107.36.

Insider Activity at Freshpet

In related news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief operating officer now owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $13,921,948.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of Freshpet 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,921,948.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 15,762 shares of company stock worth $1,737,280 in the last three months. Company insiders own 3.60% 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.