First Eagle Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 144,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,464,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 160.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 191.2% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,814 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. 98.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $916,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,038,890 shares in the company, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total transaction of $1,885,086.72. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 668,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,224,852.48. The trade was a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 145,474 shares of company stock worth $6,171,500. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VITL. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.71.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $30.94 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.63 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.30 and a 52 week high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. On average, equities analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.