Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 40,038 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has reduced its stake in Vital Farms by 1.8%, now holding 2,196,810 shares valued at approximately $66.94 million.
• Institutional ownership of Vital Farms stands at 98.59%, with several firms increasing their positions and new investors entering the market during the first quarter.
• Vital Farms reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with $0.36 EPS surpassing estimates, and revenue rising by 25.4% year-over-year to $184.77 million.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,196,810 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,038 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 4.93% of Vital Farms worth $66,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,929 shares of the company's stock worth $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 first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,154 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in Vital Farms in the first quarter valued at approximately $112,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management acquired a new position in Vital Farms in the first quarter valued at approximately $130,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 2,059.4% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,003 shares of the company's stock worth $197,000 after acquiring an additional 5,725 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 4,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.25, for a total transaction of $211,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,827,070 shares of the company's stock, valued at $343,060,267.50. This represents a 0.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Thilo Wrede sold 1,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.97, for a total value of $46,764.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 56,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,189,607.39. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 103,901 shares of company stock valued at $4,141,052. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on VITL shares. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Lake Street Capital set a $60.00 price target on Vital Farms and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $48.20.

Vital Farms Stock Down 2.5%

Vital Farms stock traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $51.10. 333,922 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 999,422. The company's fifty day moving average price is $40.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.65. The company has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.56 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 fifty-two week low of $27.91 and a fifty-two week high of $53.13.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $184.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.28 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 18.40% and a net margin of 7.84%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 25.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Vital Farms has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Vital Farms Company 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.