Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 27,510 Shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 345,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,510 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.79% of Vital Farms worth $13,006,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Vital Farms by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 253,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,888,000 after purchasing an additional 14,426 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Vital Farms by 6.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 39,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,391,000 after buying an additional 2,551 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Vital Farms by 4.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 74,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,604,000 after buying an additional 3,274 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Vital Farms by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 46,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 6,902 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Vital Farms during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,788,000. Institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of Vital Farms stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 32.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total value of $1,885,086.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 668,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,224,852.48. This represents a 6.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 145,474 shares of company stock valued at $5,969,700 in the last 90 days. 27.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Vital Farms from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 price objective on shares of Vital Farms in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Vital Farms Trading Up 1.4 %

NASDAQ:VITL opened at $32.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.19 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 2.81, a current ratio of 3.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.68. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 52 week low of $24.12 and a 52 week high of $48.41.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $165.99 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.32 million. Vital Farms had a return on equity of 22.29% and a net margin of 8.68%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.