74,333 Shares in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Acquired by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 74,333 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,765,000. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.17% of Vital Farms at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 29.7% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 937,755 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,859,000 after purchasing an additional 214,839 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 73.0% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,675,000 after purchasing an additional 331,000 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,659 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,296,000 after purchasing an additional 31,187 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,775,000 after purchasing an additional 364,837 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 35.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 655,811 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,999,000 after purchasing an additional 172,249 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $1,789,245.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at $21,531,574.43. This trade represents a 7.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $916,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,038,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 137,381 shares of company stock worth $5,328,422 over the last quarter. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VITL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson raised their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.67.

Vital Farms Price Performance

VITL stock traded up $0.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $40.13. 902,533 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 707,439. The company has a market cap of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.83 and a beta of 0.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is $35.15 and its 200 day moving average is $35.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $14.16 and a 12-month high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. Vital Farms's revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.10 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

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.