Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) Shares Sold by Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 357,593 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,484 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $52,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Freshpet by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Freshpet by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,887 shares of the company’s stock valued at $805,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Freshpet by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Freshpet by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 573 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Freshpet by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRPT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark decreased their price target on shares of Freshpet from $195.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $142.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price 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. Oppenheimer downgraded Freshpet from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Freshpet from $102.00 to $91.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.80.

Freshpet Price Performance

Shares of FRPT opened at $77.57 on Monday. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $72.90 and a 12 month high of $164.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 4.72 and a quick ratio of 3.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $93.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.78. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.52 and a beta of 1.80.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS 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 business had revenue of $262.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $275.46 million. On average, research analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current 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.