Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 8,015 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 23.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,666 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,015 shares during the period. Vital Farms accounts for 3.1% of Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Vital Farms worth $620,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL acquired a new stake in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at $304,000. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the first quarter worth $656,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 79.3% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 524,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,075,000 after purchasing an additional 231,985 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 15.2% during the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 15,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 2,094 shares during the period. Finally, Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms during the fourth quarter worth $3,016,000. 98.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Vital Farms Price Performance

VITL traded up $1.05 on Wednesday, reaching $44.89. The company had a trading volume of 296,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 582,423. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.43 and a 200-day moving average of $25.56. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.58 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 2.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Vital Farms, Inc. has a one year low of $10.00 and a one year high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $147.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.87 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 7.48% and a return on equity of 19.58%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 0.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VITL. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Vital Farms from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $30.00 to $40.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $19.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $28.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Lake Street Capital upped their price target on shares of Vital Farms from $26.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.40.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.03, for a total value of $750,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 313,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,838,845.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.56, for a total value of $1,021,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,290,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,295,469.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.03, for a total value of $750,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 313,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,838,845.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 201,623 shares of company stock worth $7,062,766 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 30.20% of the company’s stock.

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.