Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Boosts Stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 603,874 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 71,961 shares during the period. Vital Farms makes up 1.3% of Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned 1.36% of Vital Farms worth $18,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 296,416 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,172,000 after acquiring an additional 42,982 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,855 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 4,351 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 10,241.4% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 2,970 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Vital Farms during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $699,000. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.69, for a total value of $1,520,227.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 703,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,708,865.84. This represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Thilo Wrede sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.93, for a total value of $38,316.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 57,117 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,823,745.81. The trade was a 2.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 130,324 shares of company stock worth $4,469,714 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 21.30% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of VITL traded down $0.74 on Friday, reaching $38.17. The stock had a trading volume of 457,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,028,834. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a PE ratio of 34.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 3.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.94 and a 200 day moving average of $35.29. Vital Farms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.91 and a twelve month high of $45.72.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $162.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $164.43 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 19.53% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.43 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on VITL shares. Mizuho started coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. DA Davidson dropped 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded Vital Farms to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $44.67.

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.