Granite Investment Partners LLC Sells 7,812 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Granite Investment Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 95,284 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,812 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Vital Farms were worth $3,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VITL. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 152.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Vital Farms by 160.3% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 872 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the 4th quarter valued at $62,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Vital Farms news, CMO Kathryn Mckeon sold 12,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.05, for a total transaction of $541,815.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 46,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,035,242.15. The trade was a 21.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.39, for a total value of $125,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,966,890 shares in the company, valued at $218,690,677.10. This represents a 0.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 88,546 shares of company stock valued at $3,567,030. Company insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL opened at $34.01 on Monday. 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 $1.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.37 and a beta of 0.96. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.52 and a 12 month high of $48.41. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $32.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.61.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The business had revenue of $165.99 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.32 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VITL shares. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Craig Hallum started coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Vital Farms in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.00.

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.