Amundi Has $4 Million Stock Position in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC

Key Points

• Amundi significantly reduced its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 64.3%, selling 141,148 shares and retaining 78,387 shares worth approximately $4 million.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported a quarterly EPS of $1.70, beating analyst expectations of $1.54, with revenues reaching $4.76 billion, up 4.3% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a special dividend of $2.10, paid to shareholders on September 3rd, with a record date of August 20th.

Amundi decreased its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 64.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,387 shares of the company's stock after selling 141,148 shares during the period. Amundi's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $4,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 56,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,154,000 after purchasing an additional 8,638 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 18.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 1st quarter worth about $355,000. LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 135.2% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 98,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,363,000 after purchasing an additional 56,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 129.6% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 62,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,430,000 after purchasing an additional 35,512 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

Shares of PPC stock traded down $0.28 on Tuesday, hitting $42.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,305,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,374,585. The company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 0.50. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $41.17 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock's 50 day moving average is $46.19 and its 200-day moving average is $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.16. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th were paid a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 20th.

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.