HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 28.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 140,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,191 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.32% of Vital Farms worth $4,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter worth $35,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 162.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 180.4% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.20.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Vital Farms stock opened at $37.57 on Wednesday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.14 and a twelve month high of $48.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market capitalization of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.54 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.74 and its 200 day moving average is $36.47.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. Vital Farms’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $1,789,245.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 537,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. This trade represents a 7.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

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.