Champlain Investment Partners LLC Sells 715,467 Shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Freshpet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FRPT) by 29.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,744,683 shares of the company’s stock after selling 715,467 shares during the period. Freshpet comprises 1.4% of Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Champlain Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Freshpet were worth $238,620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Freshpet by 749.7% in the third quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 2,771,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445,199 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Freshpet by 54.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 439,681 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,135,000 after buying an additional 154,909 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position in Freshpet by 24.4% during the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 721,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,327,000 after buying an additional 141,615 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Freshpet during the second quarter valued at approximately $8,892,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Freshpet in the second quarter worth approximately $8,902,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRPT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Freshpet from $157.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered Freshpet from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Freshpet from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Freshpet from $183.00 to $189.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Freshpet from $126.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Freshpet presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.80.

Freshpet Stock Performance

FRPT opened at $156.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 3.91 and a current ratio of 4.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 176.14 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a fifty day moving average of $142.30 and a 200 day moving average of $133.28. Freshpet, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $68.22 and a fifty-two week high of $159.12.

Freshpet (NASDAQ:FRPT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $253.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $248.36 million. Freshpet had a return on equity of 3.67% and a net margin of 4.75%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.15) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Freshpet, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 owns 86,039 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,046,320.39. This trade represents a 2.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Thembeka Machaba sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.85, for a total value of $384,625.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.70% of the company’s stock.

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.