KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Acquires Shares of 14,800 Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 14,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VITL. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 29.4% during 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. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Vital Farms by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake 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 valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 872 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 87.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 191.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on VITL shares. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson cut 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. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,677,632.10. This represents a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.39, for a total value of $125,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,966,890 shares in the company, valued at $218,690,677.10. This represents a 0.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 145,474 shares of company stock worth $5,969,700 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Up 2.3 %

Vital Farms stock opened at $31.66 on Thursday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 1-year low of $23.68 and a 1-year high of $48.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.65. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.27 and a beta of 0.95.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.32 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS 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.