Teacher Retirement System of Texas Trims Stock Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its holdings in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 51.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,749 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,597 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Vital Farms were worth $358,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 417.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,431,024 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,961,550 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,236,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,307,000 after purchasing an additional 87,980 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 64.6% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,058,753 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,904,000 after purchasing an additional 415,614 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 30.0% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 905,354 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,123,000 after purchasing an additional 208,951 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 901,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,978,000 after purchasing an additional 59,397 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Vital Farms news, CFO Thilo Wrede sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.97, for a total transaction of $46,764.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 56,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,189,607.39. This trade represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.17, for a total transaction of $1,175,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,858,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $268,662,721.30. The trade was a 0.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 86,400 shares of company stock worth $2,996,250. 21.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on VITL shares. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Vital Farms to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $44.67.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VITL opened at $37.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.91, a current ratio of 3.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market cap of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.39 and a beta of 0.94. Vital Farms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.91 and a fifty-two week high of $45.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.28.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.26 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $162.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $164.43 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.26% and a return on equity of 19.53%. Vital Farms’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.43 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

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.