AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 44.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 576,438 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.79% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $85,502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,888 shares of the company's stock worth $232,119,000 after acquiring an additional 33,965 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,513,000 after buying an additional 180,164 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,079,000 after acquiring an additional 119,555 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 897,805 shares of the company's stock worth $40,761,000 after purchasing an additional 15,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 849,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,549,000 after buying an additional 21,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

PPC stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.75. The company had a trading volume of 305,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,156,317. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 1-year low of $33.70 and a 1-year high of $57.16. The company has a market capitalization of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.15.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. Pilgrim's Pride's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $6.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Santander began coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Company Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corp. engages in the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. It operates through the following segments: U.S., U.K. and Europe, and Mexico. The company was founded by Lonnie A.