HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 107,676 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 76.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,623 shares of the company's stock after selling 107,676 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.07% of Vital Farms worth $1,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Vital Farms in the third quarter worth about $35,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 160.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in Vital Farms by 191.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Monday, March 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $42.00.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,677,632.10. This represents a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total value of $1,885,086.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 668,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,224,852.48. This trade represents a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 145,474 shares of company stock worth $5,969,700. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Stock Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ VITL traded down $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.72. The stock had a trading volume of 879,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,015,112. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.95. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.04 and a 1 year high of $48.41. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.65.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The firm had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.32 million. On average, research analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share 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.