Invesco Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 12.7%, selling 143,342 shares in the first quarter and retaining 981,987 shares valued at approximately $53.5 million.
• Multiple hedge funds adjusted their positions in Pilgrim's Pride, with PNC Financial Services Group increasing its stake by 46.7%, while other firms like Principal Financial Group and Fifth Third Bancorp made smaller increases.
• Pilgrim's Pride has announced a dividend of $2.10 per share to be paid on September 3rd, with an ex-dividend date of August 20th.

Invesco Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 12.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 981,987 shares of the company's stock after selling 143,342 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.41% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $53,528,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 0.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 93,044 shares of the company's stock worth $5,072,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 10.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 3,747 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 1.9% in the first quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,417 shares of the company's stock worth $1,113,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 46.7% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 18.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company's stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PPC. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.00.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ PPC traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $46.96. 200,628 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,305,718. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company's 50 day moving average price is $46.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.41. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12 month low of $40.09 and a 12 month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 37.15% and a net margin of 6.81%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be given a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th.

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.