Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 9,400 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 755,854 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 1.73% of Vital Farms worth $28,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Vital Farms by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 229,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,638,000 after acquiring an additional 25,028 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,083 shares of the company's stock worth $2,830,000 after buying an additional 11,730 shares during the period. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth about $1,960,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vital Farms by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 761,380 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,703,000 after buying an additional 11,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Vital Farms by 417.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,431,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,625,000 after buying an additional 1,961,550 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.05, for a total transaction of $541,815.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 46,203 shares of the company's stock, 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 quarter, insiders have sold 133,670 shares of company stock worth $5,087,257. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $32.78. The stock had a trading volume of 202,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,032,907. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24 and a beta of 0.96. The company's 50-day moving average price is $32.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.57. Vital Farms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.75 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $160.32 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VITL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $43.13.

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.