Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers reduced its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, now owning 106,333 shares valued at approximately $5.8 million.
• Pilgrim's Pride reported earnings of $1.70 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.54, along with a revenue of $4.76 billion.
• The company announced a special $2.10 dividend paid on September 3rd, with the ex-dividend date on August 20th.

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 106,333 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,082 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers' holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $5,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,903,586 shares of the company's stock valued at $158,261,000 after purchasing an additional 29,549 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 25.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,370,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,599,000 after purchasing an additional 487,219 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,243,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,758,000 after purchasing an additional 166,967 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,070,893 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,374,000 after purchasing an additional 221,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 77.0% in the 1st quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 785,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,796,000 after purchasing an additional 341,517 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

PPC traded down $0.76 on Thursday, reaching $41.57. The company had a trading volume of 918,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,320,970. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.13 and a 200-day moving average of $48.36. The company has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.01 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.63, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a one year low of $40.92 and a one year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Pilgrim's Pride's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on PPC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.50.

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.