Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $3.73 Million Position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 64.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,307 shares of the company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 19,033 shares of the company's stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 23.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PPC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Santander initiated coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC stock traded down $0.35 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.18. 1,060,463 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,196,082. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $50.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $49.95. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $33.70 and a twelve month high of $57.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.51.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 6.08%. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is an increase 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 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.