William Blair Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 955,895 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 89,772 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 2.18% of Vital Farms worth $36,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Vital Farms by 160.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Vital Farms during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Vital Farms by 29.4% during the 4th 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 191.2% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the company's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In related news, 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 $28,224,852.48. This trade represents a 6.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $1,273,894.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. The trade was a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 141,474 shares of company stock worth $5,844,140. Insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

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Vital Farms Stock Up 0.9 %

VITL traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.79. The stock had a trading volume of 698,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 985,127. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24. Vital Farms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.62 and a twelve month high of $48.41. The company has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.60 and a beta of 0.95.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson cut their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, February 28th. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $43.71.

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.