Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Shares Purchased by Sapience Investments LLC

Sapience Investments LLC lifted its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 77,698 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,235 shares during the quarter. Vital Farms accounts for approximately 1.7% of Sapience Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Sapience Investments LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Vital Farms worth $2,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 417.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,431,024 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961,550 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,172,000 after buying an additional 516,139 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in Vital Farms by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,058,753 shares of the company's stock worth $39,904,000 after buying an additional 415,614 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Vital Farms by 96.3% in the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 628,709 shares of the company's stock worth $23,696,000 after buying an additional 308,425 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 105.5% in the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 579,808 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,853,000 after acquiring an additional 297,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VITL. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Vital Farms from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $44.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Vital Farms to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $44.63.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.69, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 6.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.39, for a total transaction of $125,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,966,890 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,690,677.10. This trade represents a 0.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 93,124 shares of company stock valued at $3,019,308. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Vital Farms Price Performance

NASDAQ:VITL traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $34.70. 633,900 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,028,093. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.91 and a 52-week high of $48.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $32.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.03. The company has a market cap 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The company had revenue of $162.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.43 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.43 earnings per share. Vital Farms's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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.