Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. invested approximately $12.21 million in Vital Farms, acquiring 400,613 shares, representing 0.90% ownership as of the latest SEC filing.
• Vital Farms reported a 25.4% year-over-year revenue increase, generating $184.77 million in the last quarter, along with an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.36, exceeding expectations.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Vital Farms, with a target price of $48.20, following several price upgrades from various financial institutions.

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 400,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,207,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.90% of Vital Farms as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 20,650.0% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,660 shares of the company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,929 shares of the company's stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 43.2% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 1st quarter valued at about $112,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management acquired a new stake in Vital Farms in the 1st quarter valued at about $130,000. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VITL shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Lake Street Capital set a $60.00 target price on Vital Farms and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $49.80.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, insider Joanne Bal sold 4,796 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.95, for a total value of $244,356.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 43,332 shares in the company, valued at $2,207,765.40. The trade was a 9.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Stephanie Coon sold 10,005 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.15, for a total transaction of $461,730.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 45,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,112,700.85. This trade represents a 17.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 103,901 shares of company stock worth $4,141,052. 21.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vital Farms Price Performance

VITL traded down $1.76 on Wednesday, hitting $50.14. 424,180 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,000,900. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.79 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.10. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.91 and a 12 month high of $53.13. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.10.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $184.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.28 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 18.40%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Vital Farms has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.