Great Lakes Advisors LLC Takes $4.30 Million Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 33,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,299,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Freshpet in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Freshpet during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 1st quarter worth $41,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total transaction of $304,941.78. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 3.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $136.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 758.15 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 3.69, a current ratio of 4.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $128.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.45. Freshpet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.60 and a twelve month high of $143.06.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.09) by $0.06. Freshpet had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 1.78%. The company had revenue of $235.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $230.99 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.35) EPS. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.7 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRPT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Freshpet from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Freshpet from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.87.

About Freshpet

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.