Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 172,249 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 35.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 655,811 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 172,249 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.52% of Vital Farms worth $22,999,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,801,952 shares of the company's stock worth $41,895,000 after purchasing an additional 152,743 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 214,839 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 116.1% in the first quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 862,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,056,000 after buying an additional 463,471 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Vital Farms by 73.0% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 784,153 shares of the company's stock worth $36,675,000 after acquiring an additional 331,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Emerald Advisers LLC raised its position in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Vital Farms stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $28.74. The company had a trading volume of 427,637 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,066. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.89 and a 200 day moving average of $36.69. 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 has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45 and a beta of 0.97. Vital Farms, Inc. has a one year low of $12.23 and a one year high of $48.41.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total value of $938,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $1,789,245.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at $21,531,574.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VITL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.20.

Vital Farms Company 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.