William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys Shares of 1,810,994 Freshpet, Inc. $FRPT

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,810,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $107,066,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 3.69% of Freshpet as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Optimize Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 10,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in shares of Freshpet by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 11,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 55.0% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Freshpet by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam boosted its stake in Freshpet by 81.1% in the second quarter. Ossiam now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter.

Freshpet Trading Down 0.2%

NASDAQ:FRPT opened at $73.96 on Friday. Freshpet, Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.45 and a 12 month high of $86.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.78. The company has a current ratio of 6.05, a quick ratio of 5.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 1.61.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.17. Freshpet had a net margin of 17.28% and a return on equity of 5.97%. The firm had revenue of $305.59 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.35 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.33 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Freshpet, Inc. will post 1.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Freshpet news, CEO William B. Cyr sold 3,045 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.41, for a total transaction of $220,488.45. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 33,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,425,952.23. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Freshpet in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Freshpet from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Freshpet from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (down from $77.00) on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Freshpet in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.31.

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.