Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Village Super Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:VLGEA)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $43.23, but opened at $41.83. Village Super Market shares last traded at $41.9550, with a volume of 5,787 shares.

Specifically, CFO Orden John L. Van sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.88, for a total value of $351,040.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 32,023 shares in the company, valued at $1,405,169.24. This represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John James Sumas sold 12,702 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.16, for a total value of $548,218.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 36,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,555,918. This represents a 26.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on VLGEA shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Village Super Market from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Village Super Market in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Village Super Market currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

Village Super Market Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $612.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $40.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Village Super Market (NASDAQ:VLGEA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The company reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Village Super Market had a return on equity of 11.52% and a net margin of 2.37%.The company had revenue of $640.96 million during the quarter.

Village Super Market Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. Village Super Market’s payout ratio is presently 26.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Village Super Market by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 736,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,079,000 after acquiring an additional 4,170 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Village Super Market by 8.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 502,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,772,000 after acquiring an additional 38,108 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Village Super Market by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 370,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,098,000 after acquiring an additional 34,516 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Village Super Market by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 202,842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,097 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Village Super Market by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 174,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,176,000 after acquiring an additional 39,244 shares during the period. 39.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Village Super Market

Village Super Market, Inc is a publicly traded supermarket operator headquartered in Springfield, New Jersey. The company operates a network of ShopRite-branded grocery stores under a membership agreement with Wakefern Food Corp., one of the largest retailer-owned cooperatives in the United States. Through its ShopRite banner, Village Super Market serves communities across northern and central New Jersey, offering a full range of grocery products from fresh produce, meat, seafood and bakery items to dairy, deli and health and beauty merchandise.

The company’s supermarkets feature an array of in-store services designed to meet diverse customer needs.