Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC Acquires 6,280 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 52.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,320 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,280 shares during the quarter. Pier 88 Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FRPT. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Freshpet during the 1st quarter worth approximately $561,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Freshpet by 7.5% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 186,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,496,000 after buying an additional 13,004 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 7.1% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $300,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 13.9% during the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 55,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,638,000 after buying an additional 6,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 76,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,402,000 after acquiring an additional 12,670 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on FRPT shares. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective (down previously from $120.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $60.00 price target (down from $81.00) on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Freshpet from $100.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Freshpet from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.43.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of FRPT opened at $55.24 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.05 and a 200-day moving average of $65.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 5.52 and a quick ratio of 3.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.76. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.76 and a 1 year high of $164.07.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $1.43. The business had revenue of $288.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $283.73 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.73% and a net margin of 11.44%.The firm’s revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jacki Sue Kelley bought 814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.50 per share, for a total transaction of $45,991.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 11,907 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,745.50. This represents a 7.34% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Walter N. George purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.57 per share, for a total transaction of $52,570.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 46,527 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,445,924.39. The trade was a 2.20% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have bought 6,008 shares of company stock valued at $332,305. 4.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.