67,695 Shares in Smithfield Foods, Inc. $SFD Purchased by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 67,695 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,380,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth $27,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth $28,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth $34,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth $74,000. Finally, American Capital Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Smithfield Foods in the first quarter worth $102,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on SFD shares. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $28.50 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Smithfield Foods in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Smithfield Foods from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Smithfield Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Smithfield Foods from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $28.44.

Smithfield Foods Stock Down 1.8%

Smithfield Foods stock traded down $0.43 on Friday, hitting $23.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,020,271 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,041,827. The firm has a market cap of $9.36 billion and a P/E ratio of 10.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.53. Smithfield Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $18.43 and a one year high of $26.07.

Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.62 billion. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Smithfield Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 14th. Smithfield Foods's payout ratio is currently 44.05%.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc produces and markets a variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. The Company operates in four segments: Pork, Hog Production, International and Corporate, each of which consists of a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments.