Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Sells 6,591 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC lessened its position in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 243,839 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,591 shares during the period. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.56% of Vital Farms worth $9,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Mendota Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in Vital Farms by 29.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Vital Farms by 87.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Vital Farms in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $199,000. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.19, for a total transaction of $916,560.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,038,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,815,209.10. This trade represents a 0.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,684,456.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 613,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 190,202 shares of company stock worth $7,855,957. 27.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Monday, January 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $52.00 target price for the company. Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of 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, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $34.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.57.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

Shares of VITL opened at $34.76 on Tuesday. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.20 and a 12 month high of $48.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

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.