Impax Asset Management Group plc Buys Shares of 125,000 Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 125,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,711,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $44,172,000 after acquiring an additional 516,139 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at $16,464,000. Emerald Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 106.8% in the third quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 706,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,775,000 after buying an additional 364,837 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at $9,894,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust increased its position in shares of Vital Farms by 93.9% in the third quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust now owns 531,676 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,646,000 after buying an additional 257,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Trading Down 7.4 %

Vital Farms stock opened at $32.33 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.87 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.67. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $16.52 and a 52 week high of $48.41. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on VITL. 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 raised their price target on Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Farms news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total value of $1,684,456.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares in the company, valued at $23,115,595.02. The trade was a 6.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total value of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,677,632.10. This trade represents a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957. 27.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.