Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Cuts Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,158 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned about 0.25% of Vital Farms worth $4,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Vital Farms by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,171,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,172,000 after acquiring an additional 516,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Vital Farms by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,296,000 after acquiring an additional 31,187 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Vital Farms by 96.3% in the fourth quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 628,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,696,000 after acquiring an additional 308,425 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Vital Farms in the third quarter worth $16,464,000. Finally, Needham Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Up 5.5 %

VITL opened at $30.94 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 $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63 and a beta of 0.95. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.30 and a 52 week high of $48.41. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.70.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.19, for a total value of $1,036,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,014,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $302,973,099.10. The trade was a 0.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $1,273,894.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,677,632.10. The trade was a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 145,474 shares of company stock valued at $6,171,500. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 28th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $43.71.

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.