Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) CEO Sells $2,763,312.69 in Stock

Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) CEO William Cyr sold 37,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.67, for a total value of $2,763,312.69. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 350,744 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,190,054.48. This represents a 9.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Freshpet Trading Down 2.7%

FRPT traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.82. 1,118,487 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,489,577. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.89. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.45 and a 1-year high of $86.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 5.03, a current ratio of 6.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.17. Freshpet had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 17.28%.The company had revenue of $305.59 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $292.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Freshpet

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,281,833 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,822,000 after acquiring an additional 128,499 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,952,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,982,000 after purchasing an additional 461,444 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Freshpet by 27.2% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 59,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,506,000 after purchasing an additional 12,732 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 107.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 193,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,795,000 after purchasing an additional 100,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the 4th quarter worth $1,722,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on FRPT. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $66.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Freshpet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.31.

About Freshpet

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.