Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 655,811 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 172,249 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.50% of Vital Farms worth $22,999,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Vital Farms by 180.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in Vital Farms by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the 2nd quarter worth $97,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the second quarter valued at about $168,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. The trade was a 7.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total value of $916,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,038,890 shares in the company, valued at $268,815,209.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,328,422 in the last three months. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL traded down $1.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $37.72. The stock had a trading volume of 742,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,007. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.16 and a 12 month high of $48.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68 and a beta of 0.94. The firm's fifty day moving average is $34.72 and its 200 day moving average is $36.24.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior 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. Analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VITL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. 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 research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

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.