Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its stake in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 23.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,258 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,654 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $9,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Freshpet by 302.0% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 130.9% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Freshpet in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in Freshpet during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Freshpet during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRPT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Freshpet from $155.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $155.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $160.00 to $145.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.53.

Freshpet Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $79.49 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $110.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.73. The company has a quick ratio of 3.91, a current ratio of 4.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.87 billion, a PE ratio of 84.56 and a beta of 1.80. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.15 and a fifty-two week high of $164.07.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. Freshpet had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 3.92%. The company had revenue of $262.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.46 million. Analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.