First Hawaiian Bank Sells 2,295 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

First Hawaiian Bank lessened its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 30.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,235 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,295 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at $4,338,000. Nicholas Investment Partners LP bought a new stake in Freshpet in the fourth quarter valued at $2,278,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Freshpet during the first quarter worth about $811,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 4.4% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 249,021 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,852,000 after acquiring an additional 10,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Freshpet by 53.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 139,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,151,000 after acquiring an additional 48,401 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Freshpet from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Freshpet from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $168.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Freshpet to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.76.

Insider Transactions at Freshpet

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 1,012 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.61, for a total transaction of $122,057.32. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,377,163.79. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 13,560 shares of company stock valued at $1,701,580 in the last quarter. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Freshpet Price Performance

Freshpet stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $121.41. 2,163,820 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 608,377. The company’s fifty day moving average is $126.77 and its 200-day moving average is $113.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a PE ratio of 674.54 and a beta of 1.36. Freshpet, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.60 and a 52 week high of $136.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 4.09 and a current ratio of 4.97.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $223.85 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.43 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 1.19% and a return on equity of 0.20%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.54 EPS for the current year.

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.