Pilgrim's Pride Corporation $PPC Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 5.4% during the first quarter, owning 4,839,131 shares valued at approximately $263.8 million.
• Shares of Pilgrim's Pride were downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by analysts, with the company's current stock performance showing an average target price of $49.00.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.70 EPS, exceeding expectations, alongside a revenue of $4.76 billion for the quarter.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 5.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,839,131 shares of the company's stock after selling 274,757 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 2.04% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $263,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 25,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,177,000 after buying an additional 1,876 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,664,000. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 60.6% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 32,454 shares of the company's stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 12,244 shares during the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 38.2% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 16,530 shares of the company's stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 4,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PEAK6 LLC acquired a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $831,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.00.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Pilgrim's Pride stock traded down $0.8450 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.4150. 697,906 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,308,678. The stock has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.50. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a one year low of $40.09 and a one year 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $46.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.41.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.16. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 37.15% and a net margin of 6.81%.The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict 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 declared a dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a $2.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th.

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.