Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Boosts Holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,724 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Vital Farms were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth about $2,765,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the fourth quarter worth approximately $699,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Vital Farms by 57.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 34,758 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 45,124 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.69, for a total value of $1,520,227.56. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 703,736 shares in the company, valued at $23,708,865.84. The trade was a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.68, for a total transaction of $784,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,942,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,893,645.20. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,124 shares of company stock valued at $3,019,308 over the last ninety days. 27.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of Vital Farms stock opened at $35.77 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94 and a beta of 0.96. Vital Farms, Inc. has a one year low of $27.41 and a one year high of $48.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 3.24 and a quick ratio of 2.81. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.24.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. Analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $44.71.

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.