Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 14,002 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 36.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,346 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,002 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.06% of Vital Farms worth $918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VITL. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Vital Farms by 160.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Vital Farms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $62,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 87.1% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after buying an additional 1,124 shares during the period. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Farms Stock Down 1.8 %

Vital Farms stock opened at $29.72 on Friday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $23.04 and a fifty-two week high of $48.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.65. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $1,273,894.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. The trade was a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.08, for a total transaction of $517,584.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 46,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,944,222.24. This trade represents a 21.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 145,474 shares of company stock valued at $5,969,700 in the last ninety days. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on VITL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

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.