Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 35.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 655,811 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 172,249 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.52% of Vital Farms worth $22,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vital Farms during the second quarter valued at $42,000. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 162.9% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 180.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 66.7% during the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the second quarter worth approximately $97,000. 98.59% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $1,789,245.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Vital Farms news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was 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 owns 7,194,777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total transaction of $1,789,245.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at $21,531,574.43. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $28.50 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.69. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $11.98 and a 12-month high of $48.41. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VITL shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Vital Farms from $42.00 to $34.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.20.

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.