Millennium Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Millennium Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 122,101 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,444 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.05% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $5,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth about $55,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth about $118,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,445 shares of the company's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock traded up $0.43 on Friday, hitting $49.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 938,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,197,491. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.01. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 1 year low of $33.70 and a 1 year high of $57.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.96. The company has a market capitalization of $11.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.51.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. Pilgrim's Pride's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $6.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPC has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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 cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Santander initiated coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.40.

About Pilgrim's Pride

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.