Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Has $22.98 Million Stock Holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 20%, now owning approximately 1.69% of the company worth about $22.98 million.
• Vital Farms' CFO recently sold shares, reducing their holdings, amid a backdrop of significant insider selling totaling 67,400 shares in the past three months.
• Analysts have a consensus "Buy" rating on Vital Farms, with nine analysts rating the stock positively and a consensus price target of $44.00.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 754,283 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 125,574 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned about 1.69% of Vital Farms worth $22,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Vital Farms by 53.2% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 23,177 shares of the company's stock worth $706,000 after purchasing an additional 8,049 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,236,848 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,307,000 after buying an additional 87,980 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 8,421 shares of the company's stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 84,592 shares of the company's stock worth $3,188,000 after acquiring an additional 17,017 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,114,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In related news, CFO Thilo Wrede sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.97, for a total transaction of $46,764.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,189,607.39. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.34, for a total value of $201,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,872,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $277,219,303.80. The trade was a 0.07% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 67,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,630 over the last three months. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL opened at $35.27 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $35.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 3.35 and a quick ratio of 2.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.49 and a beta of 0.94. Vital Farms, Inc. has a one year low of $27.91 and a one year high of $45.72.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $162.19 million during 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 for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.43 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on VITL shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Vital Farms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Mizuho started coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $44.00.

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.

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