Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Has $181,000 Stake in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 72.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,290 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,510 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of FRPT. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 86.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 67,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,624,000 after buying an additional 31,334 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Freshpet by 734.1% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in Freshpet during the 1st quarter valued at about $247,000. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Freshpet during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $272,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 148.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $984,000 after purchasing an additional 8,187 shares during the last quarter.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Shares of FRPT stock opened at $64.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 4.61 and a current ratio of 5.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.71. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.76 and a 52 week high of $164.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.58.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 3rd. The company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $1.43. The firm had revenue of $288.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $283.73 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 5.73%. The company’s revenue was up 14.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on FRPT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Freshpet from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $62.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, December 15th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $101.00 to $83.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Freshpet from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.75.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In other Freshpet news, President Scott James Morris sold 5,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.33, for a total value of $320,500.86. Following the sale, the president directly owned 30,858 shares in the company, valued at $1,923,379.14. The trade was a 14.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 4.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Freshpet

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.