Cal-Maine Foods receives $1.4 M institutional purchase and $320 M family stake sale amid DOJ antitrust probe

Investment firm Stephens Inc. AR acquired 17,477 shares of Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) in the first quarter, valued at approximately $1.38 million, according to a recent SEC Form 13F filing. The filing also noted that other institutional investors, including Smartleaf Asset Management, MML Investors Services, the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, IFP Advisors and GAMMA Investing, increased their holdings in the egg producer during the same period.

Separately, the Adams family, founders of the nation’s largest egg producer, sold nearly three million shares for about $320 million after the stock hit an all‑time high. The sale occurred weeks after the U.S. Justice Department and 17 states issued a civil investigative demand tied to an antitrust probe alleging that Cal‑Maine, Versova and Hickman’s Egg Ranch coordinated bids to inflate the Urner Barry benchmark used to price billions of eggs. Cal‑Maine denies wrongdoing, attributing price rises to bird‑flu impacts. A proposed settlement would require the companies to donate 53 million eggs, pay $3.3 million to states and accept communication restrictions with competitors.