Assetmark Inc. Acquires 221,617 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 26.1% in Q1, now owning 1,070,893 shares valued at approximately $58.37 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Accredited Wealth Management LLC and KBC Group NV, have recently acquired new stakes in Pilgrim's Pride, bringing institutional ownership to 16.64%.
• Pilgrim's Pride's stock has a current consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $48.67, despite a recent downgrade to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen.

Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 26.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,070,893 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 221,617 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. owned 0.45% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $58,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PPC. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $2,664,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 125.9% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 11,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $521,000 after purchasing an additional 6,396 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 146,976 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,671,000 after purchasing an additional 11,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $440,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Up 0.9%

PPC stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Monday, hitting $48.29. The company had a trading volume of 379,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,297,843. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.14. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12 month low of $40.00 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The stock has a market cap of $11.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.45.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 36.95%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. Pilgrim's Pride's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

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.