Emerald Advisers LLC Purchases 157,883 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Emerald Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 22.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 864,323 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 157,883 shares during the quarter. Vital Farms accounts for approximately 1.3% of Emerald Advisers LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Emerald Advisers LLC owned approximately 1.97% of Vital Farms worth $32,576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in Vital Farms in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,765,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 38.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 266,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,343,000 after purchasing an additional 74,593 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 6.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 253,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,888,000 after acquiring an additional 14,426 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Vital Farms by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 372,583 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,066,000 after purchasing an additional 34,412 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at about $699,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VITL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, February 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.71.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VITL opened at $29.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. Vital Farms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.82 and a twelve month high of $48.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $36.38 and a 200-day moving average of $35.63.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total value of $1,885,086.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 668,202 shares in the company, valued at $28,224,852.48. This trade represents a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 141,474 shares of company stock valued at $5,844,140. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Company 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.