Bank of America Corp DE Sells 243,626 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 15.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,356,437 shares of the company's stock after selling 243,626 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.57% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $61,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 132.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $118,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 23.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,445 shares of the company's stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of PPC stock traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,386,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,175,889. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 0.51. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a one year low of $33.70 and a one year high of $57.16. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $50.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.14.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $6.30 dividend. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PPC. StockNews.com cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Santander assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.40.

About Pilgrim's Pride

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.