Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Lowers Position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lowered its position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 373,633 shares of the company’s stock after selling 79,126 shares during the quarter. Freshpet comprises approximately 2.7% of Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned approximately 0.77% of Freshpet worth $51,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,666,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $540,650,000 after purchasing an additional 13,709 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 2.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 923,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,492,000 after purchasing an additional 22,759 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 24.4% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,327,000 after acquiring an additional 141,615 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Freshpet by 4.4% in 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, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Freshpet in the first quarter worth $17,845,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Stephen Macchiaverna sold 2,178 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.01, for a total value of $304,941.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,046,320.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRPT has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Friday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Freshpet from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $145.87.

Freshpet Stock Performance

Freshpet stock opened at $133.69 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 4.50, a quick ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $137.58 and a 200-day moving average of $128.80. The firm has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 267.39 and a beta of 1.39. Freshpet, Inc. has a 1-year low of $57.11 and a 1-year high of $145.68.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.09) by $0.06. The company had revenue of $235.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $230.99 million. Freshpet had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 1.78%. Freshpet’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.35) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.73 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.