6,445 Shares in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Purchased by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,888 shares of the company's stock valued at $232,119,000 after buying an additional 33,965 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $85,502,000 after acquiring an additional 576,438 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,766,000 after acquiring an additional 389,967 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 180,164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company's stock worth $51,079,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Santander assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of PPC stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.97. The stock had a trading volume of 891,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,201,983. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 12-month low of $33.94 and a 12-month high of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm's 50-day moving average is $50.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.48.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, 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 firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

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.