BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Acquires 203,192 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 156.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 333,077 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 203,192 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned about 0.14% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $15,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 0.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in 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 worth $62,513,000 after purchasing an additional 180,164 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,079,000 after buying an additional 119,555 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 897,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,761,000 after acquiring an additional 15,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 849,276 shares of the company's stock worth $38,549,000 after purchasing an additional 21,575 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Santander initiated coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of PPC stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.29. The company had a trading volume of 276,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,127,983. The company has a market cap of $12.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.63. 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 12 month low of $33.67 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.82.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

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

Pilgrim's Pride 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.