Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Buys 50,342 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 98.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,606 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,342 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Vital Farms worth $3,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 180.4% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 830 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Vital Farms in the 2nd quarter valued at $97,000. nVerses Capital LLC increased its stake in Vital Farms by 130.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the second quarter valued at $168,000. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL opened at $40.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a PE ratio of 35.83 and a beta of 0.88. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.01. Vital Farms, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.16 and a twelve month high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $145.27 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. Vital Farms’s revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.10 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at $281,243,832.93. The trade was a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,684,456.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 613,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,381 shares of company stock valued at $5,328,422. Corporate insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

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.