Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,274,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of FRPT. JANA Partners Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. JANA Partners Management LP now owns 1,048,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,763,000 after buying an additional 41,373 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,281,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $321,822,000 after acquiring an additional 128,499 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Freshpet by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,952,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,982,000 after acquiring an additional 461,444 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 140,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,530,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Freshpet during the 4th quarter valued at $1,722,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRPT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Freshpet from $78.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Freshpet

In other news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 42,907 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.92, for a total value of $2,056,103.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 204,585 shares in the company, valued at $9,803,713.20. This trade represents a 17.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 4,211 shares of company stock valued at $215,027 and sold 235,262 shares valued at $11,664,591. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT stock opened at $56.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 5.26 and a current ratio of 6.18. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.45 and a 52-week high of $86.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.34.

Freshpet Company Profile

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.