Vital Farms, Inc. $VITL Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Vital Farms by 27.5% in Q1, owning approximately 0.33% of the company, valued at $4.42 million.
• Several hedge funds increased their investments in Vital Farms, with 98.59% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Research firms have recently set aggressive price targets for Vital Farms, with an average target of $48.20 and a consensus rating of "Buy."

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 27.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,137 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 31,329 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.33% of Vital Farms worth $4,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 417.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,431,024 shares of the company's stock worth $91,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961,550 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,209,564 shares of the company's stock worth $36,855,000 after acquiring an additional 37,614 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 64.6% during the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,058,753 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,904,000 after buying an additional 415,614 shares in the last quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its position in Vital Farms by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 978,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,806,000 after buying an additional 113,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Vital Farms by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 901,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,978,000 after buying an additional 59,397 shares in the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In related news, SVP Stephanie Coon sold 10,005 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 owned 45,779 shares in the company, valued at $2,112,700.85. This represents a 17.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 transaction of $46,764.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,189,607.39. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 103,901 shares of company stock worth $4,141,052. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Vital Farms stock traded up $1.81 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $53.04. 737,741 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,000,614. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.48 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $40.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.42 and a beta of 0.94. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.91 and a 1 year high of $52.96.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VITL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, August 8th. 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. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Vital Farms from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.20.

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.