Ieq Capital LLC Buys Shares of 7,713 Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 7,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,172,000 after buying an additional 516,139 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 31,187 shares during the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 106.8% during the 3rd 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. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its holdings in Vital Farms by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 531,676 shares of the company's stock worth $18,646,000 after purchasing an additional 257,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,464,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VITL shares. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday. Craig Hallum began coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.57.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.05, for a total transaction of $541,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 46,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,035,242.15. This trade represents a 21.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957. 27.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Vital Farms Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of VITL traded up $0.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $31.73. 610,814 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 956,932. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.12 and a 52 week high of $48.41. The company has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.72. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The firm had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

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.