Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by Thornburg Investment Management Inc.

Thornburg Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 13.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,547 shares during the quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $8,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FRPT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at $40,327,000. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 915,827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,457,000 after acquiring an additional 245,403 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 211.6% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 345,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,002,000 after acquiring an additional 234,836 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 3,434.5% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 226,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,635,000 after acquiring an additional 219,913 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the first quarter worth approximately $17,845,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Freshpet in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised Freshpet from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Freshpet from $138.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.76.

Freshpet Stock Down 3.0 %

FRPT traded down $3.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $116.43. 409,450 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 600,800. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.60 and a fifty-two week high of $136.35. The company has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 652.98 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 4.97 and a quick ratio of 4.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $111.27.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by $0.43. Freshpet had a return on equity of 0.20% and a net margin of 1.19%. The company had revenue of $223.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $216.43 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 1,012 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.61, for a total value of $122,057.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,377,163.79. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 13,560 shares of company stock worth $1,701,580 in the last 90 days. 3.60% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.