18,005 Shares in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) Acquired by Freedom Investment Management Inc.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $631,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VITL. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 635.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 55,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after purchasing an additional 47,623 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the third quarter valued at about $302,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 6.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 39,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in Vital Farms by 80.3% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 38,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 17,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at $281,243,832.93. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $1,789,245.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,531,574.43. The trade was a 7.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of VITL stock opened at $32.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.76 and a 200 day moving average of $36.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.88 and a beta of 0.97. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.44 and a 1-year high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.02. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The firm had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on VITL. TD Cowen cut their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.20.

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.