AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 99.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 145,630 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 72,771 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.33% of Vital Farms worth $5,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 152.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 160.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth about $62,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.69, for a total transaction of $1,520,227.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 703,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,708,865.84. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 20,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.46, for a total transaction of $589,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,970,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $205,362,419.40. This represents a 0.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,124 shares of company stock valued at $3,019,308 over the last quarter. Insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Trading Up 3.8 %

Shares of VITL stock traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.82. 973,778 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,031,986. The stock has a market cap of $1.51 billion, a PE ratio of 30.20 and a beta of 0.94. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $32.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.07. 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 $27.91 and a 12 month high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.11. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $162.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.43 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson decreased their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised Vital Farms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $44.63.

Vital Farms 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.