New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 92,083 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT - Free Report) by 57.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,067 shares of the company's stock after selling 92,083 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.14% of Freshpet worth $5,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Freshpet by 617.3% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 581 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Freshpet in the third quarter valued at $59,000. Wealth Alliance acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the fourth quarter valued at about $217,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth about $219,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total transaction of $280,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,709,007.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Freshpet news, COO Scott James Morris sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $112.02, for a total value of $280,050.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 122,380 shares in the company, valued at $13,709,007.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 7,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.53, for a total value of $773,818.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,231,127.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,762 shares of company stock valued at $1,737,280. Company insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT stock traded up $2.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $109.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 768,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 453,756. The business has a fifty day moving average of $109.84 and a 200-day moving average of $88.86. The company has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of -154.34 and a beta of 1.24. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.60 and a 52 week high of $117.76. The company has a current ratio of 4.79, a quick ratio of 4.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $215.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $204.93 million. Freshpet had a negative return on equity of 3.56% and a negative net margin of 4.38%. The business's revenue was up 29.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.06) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Freshpet from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup started coverage on Freshpet in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $94.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freshpet to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $107.36.

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.