Ieq Capital LLC Makes New $291,000 Investment in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 7,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Vital Farms by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,172,000 after buying an additional 516,139 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,296,000 after acquiring an additional 31,187 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% during the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,775,000 after acquiring an additional 364,837 shares during the period. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 93.9% during the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 531,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,646,000 after acquiring an additional 257,492 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter worth about $16,464,000. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.57.

Vital Farms Trading Up 7.5 %

NASDAQ VITL opened at $33.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $38.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.65. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.56 and a beta of 0.90. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.55 and a 12 month high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $165.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Farms news, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.05, for a total transaction of $541,815.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 46,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,035,242.15. This trade represents a 21.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total value of $1,036,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,014,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,973,099.10. This represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957 in the last quarter. 27.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vital Farms Profile

Vital Farms, Inc, a food company, provides pasture-raised products in the United States. It offers shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.