Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Stake in Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Vital Farms, Inc. (NASDAQ:VITL) by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,635 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,158 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Vital Farms were worth $4,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VITL. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in Vital Farms by 96.3% during the 4th quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 628,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,696,000 after acquiring an additional 308,425 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in Vital Farms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $864,000. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Vital Farms by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 45,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,000 after acquiring an additional 7,031 shares in the last quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. lifted its position in Vital Farms by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd. now owns 69,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,614,000 after acquiring an additional 11,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chatham Capital Group Inc. acquired a new position in Vital Farms during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,590,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on VITL shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 price target on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Thursday. Craig Hallum started coverage on Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on Vital Farms from $41.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Vital Farms in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on Vital Farms from $44.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Vital Farms presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.71.

Vital Farms Stock Performance

VITL stock opened at $30.94 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The firm has a market cap of $1.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63 and a beta of 0.95. Vital Farms, Inc. has a 12-month low of $21.30 and a 12-month high of $48.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.70.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $165.99 million for 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Vital Farms, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, insider Joanne Bal sold 28,246 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.10, for a total transaction of $1,273,894.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,371 shares in the company, valued at $2,677,632.10. This represents a 32.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,628 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.24, for a total value of $1,885,086.72. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 668,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,224,852.48. The trade was a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 145,474 shares of company stock valued at $6,171,500. Corporate insiders own 27.60% 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.