Man Group plc Cuts Stock Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Man Group plc reduced its stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 25.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 386,183 shares of the company's stock after selling 131,468 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.88% of Vital Farms worth $14,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 152.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 160.3% in 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 during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Vital Farms in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 191.2% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.69, for a total value of $1,520,227.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 703,736 shares in the company, valued at $23,708,865.84. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.68, for a total transaction of $784,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,942,890 shares in the company, valued at $226,893,645.20. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,124 shares of company stock worth $3,019,308 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company's stock.

Vital Farms Price Performance

NASDAQ:VITL traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $34.70. 633,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,028,093. The business has a 50 day moving average of $32.98 and a 200 day moving average of $35.03. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $27.91 and a 1-year high of $48.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.98 and a beta of 0.94.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.26 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $162.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $164.43 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.43 EPS. Research analysts forecast 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.