BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stock Position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets trimmed its position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 96.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,100 shares of the company's stock after selling 153,726 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PPC. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock worth $85,502,000 after buying an additional 576,438 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 156.4% in the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 333,077 shares of the company's stock worth $15,118,000 after buying an additional 203,192 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth about $8,381,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth about $8,601,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company's stock worth $62,513,000 after buying an additional 180,164 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PPC shares. Wall Street Zen cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Santander started coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock traded up $0.37 on Monday, hitting $49.53. 980,907 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,196,612. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.95. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 1-year low of $33.70 and a 1-year high of $57.16. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 6.08%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is a boost 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.