Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 21,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,274,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimize Financial Inc grew its position in Freshpet by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 10,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Freshpet by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,164 shares of the company’s stock valued at $680,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Freshpet by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam boosted its stake in shares of Freshpet by 81.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ossiam now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Craig D. Steeneck acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $47.83 per share, for a total transaction of $95,660.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 37,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,793,625. This trade represents a 5.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William B. Cyr sold 42,495 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.03, for a total value of $2,168,519.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 224,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,454,142.77. This trade represents a 15.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 4,211 shares of company stock worth $215,027 and sold 235,262 shares worth $11,664,591. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $66.00 target price on Freshpet in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Oppenheimer upgraded Freshpet from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Freshpet from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $66.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.56.

Freshpet Price Performance

FRPT opened at $56.38 on Friday. Freshpet, Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.45 and a twelve month high of $86.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $54.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.34. The stock has a market cap of $2.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.07 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 5.26, a current ratio of 6.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Freshpet Profile

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.