First Eagle Investment Management LLC Makes New $5.46 Million Investment in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 144,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,464,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.33% of Vital Farms at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $43.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Farms news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $916,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,038,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was 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 represents a 21.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 145,474 shares of company stock worth $6,171,500 in the last 90 days. 27.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Vital Farms Trading Up 5.5 %

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

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.