ProShare Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Position in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 25.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,045 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $4,437,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JANA Partners Management LP increased its holdings in Freshpet by 4.1% in the third quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 1,048,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,763,000 after buying an additional 41,373 shares in the last quarter. Western Standard LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet in the third quarter valued at about $3,527,000. ING Groep NV purchased a new position in Freshpet in the third quarter valued at about $6,354,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Freshpet by 14.5% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 190,296 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,487,000 after buying an additional 24,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deepwater Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 14.3% in the third quarter. Deepwater Asset Management LLC now owns 190,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,487,000 after buying an additional 23,768 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Walter N. George bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $54.67 per share, for a total transaction of $109,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 50,746 shares in the company, valued at $2,774,283.82. The trade was a 4.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William B. Cyr sold 4,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.52, for a total transaction of $222,156.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,868 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,039,167.36. This trade represents a 17.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 4,211 shares of company stock worth $215,027 and have sold 188,448 shares worth $9,275,025. 4.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FRPT shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $98.00 to $101.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Freshpet from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.88.

Freshpet Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ FRPT opened at $51.58 on Friday. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.45 and a 1 year high of $86.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 5.26 and a current ratio of 6.18.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.21. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.63% and a return on equity of 6.22%. The firm had revenue of $285.23 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $285.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. Freshpet’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Freshpet Company Profile

Freshpet Inc (NASDAQ: FRPT) is a leading pet food company specializing in fresh, refrigerated meals and treats for dogs and cats. The company’s products are formulated with carefully selected, natural ingredients and are designed to offer a higher level of nutrition and freshness than traditional dry or canned pet foods. Freshpet’s offerings include refrigerated rolls, pâtés and snacks, all of which are sold through the refrigerated section of grocery, mass-market and pet specialty stores.

Freshpet’s product portfolio is built around the concept of fresh, minimally processed recipes that do not require preservatives or artificial colors.