Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Buys 125,988 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. raised its position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 252.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 175,933 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 125,988 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned 0.40% of Vital Farms worth $6,631,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 57.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,444 shares of the company's stock worth $3,347,000 after acquiring an additional 34,758 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 372,583 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,066,000 after acquiring an additional 34,412 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 35.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 655,811 shares of the company's stock worth $22,999,000 after acquiring an additional 172,249 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 38.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,398 shares of the company's stock worth $9,343,000 after purchasing an additional 74,593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in Vital Farms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,765,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on VITL. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Vital Farms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $44.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.68, for a total transaction of $784,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,942,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $226,893,645.20. This represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was 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 approximately $23,708,865.84. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 93,124 shares of company stock worth $3,019,308. Insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL traded up $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 323,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,026,299. 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 fifty-two week low of $27.91 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $32.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 30.54 and a beta of 0.94.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $162.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.43 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

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.