Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Shares Sold by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 64.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,223 shares of the company's stock after selling 151,406 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $3,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of PPC. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 345.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 76,364 shares of the company's stock worth $3,516,000 after acquiring an additional 59,228 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,516 shares of the company's stock worth $254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,319 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth $59,000. Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth $1,501,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth $118,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $47.49. The stock had a trading volume of 975,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197,672. The business's fifty day moving average is $50.30 and its 200-day moving average is $49.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.41 and a beta of 0.51. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 1-year low of $33.94 and a 1-year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 6.08%. The company's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $6.30 dividend. 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on PPC shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Santander began coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.40.

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.