Teacher Retirement System of Texas Invests $561,000 in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,740 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of FRPT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Freshpet by 130.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 217 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,106,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Freshpet by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,283 shares of the company's stock valued at $634,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Freshpet by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its position in Freshpet by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 90,650 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,426,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period.

Freshpet Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:FRPT traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.82. 1,055,749 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 963,247. Freshpet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $66.75 and a twelve month high of $164.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.92 and a current ratio of 4.91. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 228.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.79. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $76.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.18.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.04). Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.16% and a net margin of 1.54%. The company had revenue of $263.25 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Freshpet's revenue for the quarter was up 17.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRPT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Freshpet in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "sell" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $88.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of Freshpet from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $96.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Freshpet has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $119.14.

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.