Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 296,416 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Vital Farms were worth $11,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,172,000 after purchasing an additional 516,139 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,296,000 after purchasing an additional 31,187 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at about $16,464,000. Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Vital Farms by 7.2% in the third quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC now owns 447,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,694,000 after buying an additional 30,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 34,412 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VITL. Craig Hallum started coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, February 28th. 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 668,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,224,852.48. This represents a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,677,632.10. This represents a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 141,474 shares of company stock worth $5,844,140 in the last quarter. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $29.79 on Friday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a one year low of $22.82 and a one year high of $48.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.60.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (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 return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. Sell-side analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current 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.