Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Decreases Position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC trimmed its stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 643,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 127,806 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned approximately 1.47% of Vital Farms worth $22,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of VITL. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Vital Farms by 10.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 372,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,066,000 after buying an additional 34,412 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 4.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 749,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,296,000 after acquiring an additional 31,187 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter worth about $848,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Vital Farms by 57.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 95,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 34,758 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter worth about $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on VITL shares. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Vital Farms currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at $281,243,832.93. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,653 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.07, for a total value of $1,789,245.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 537,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,531,574.43. The trade was a 7.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Vital Farms Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VITL opened at $37.57 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $34.85 and its 200 day moving average is $36.41. The stock has a market cap of $1.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.54 and a beta of 0.93. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.14 and a 52-week high of $48.41. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $145.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $145.27 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. The business’s revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Vital Farms 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.