Aurora Investment Counsel Takes Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 33,473 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,262,000. Aurora Investment Counsel owned approximately 0.08% of Vital Farms at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VITL. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in Vital Farms in the 4th quarter valued at $2,765,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 38.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,398 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,343,000 after purchasing an additional 74,593 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 253,434 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,888,000 after purchasing an additional 14,426 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 372,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,066,000 after purchasing an additional 34,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Vital Farms in the 4th quarter valued at $699,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Trading Down 6.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.59. 1,036,483 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 983,360. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $37.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.71. 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 stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.42 and a beta of 0.95. Vital Farms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $21.30 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41.

Remove Ads

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The company had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.32 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VITL has been the subject of several recent research reports. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Craig Hallum started coverage on Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $43.71.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $916,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,038,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $268,815,209.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 145,474 shares of company stock worth $6,171,500 in the last three months. 27.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Vital Farms

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.