Sigma Planning Corp Sells 6,582 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

Sigma Planning Corp reduced its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,005 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,582 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $1,199,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 102.0% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,381 shares of the company's stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 827,381 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,883,708 shares of the company's stock worth $85,502,000 after purchasing an additional 576,438 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $83,766,000 after buying an additional 389,967 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 156.4% during the fourth quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 333,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,118,000 after buying an additional 203,192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company's stock worth $62,513,000 after buying an additional 180,164 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note 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 note on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.67.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

PPC traded down $0.12 on Friday, reaching $44.94. The company had a trading volume of 785,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,279,189. The company has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.62 and a 200-day moving average of $49.09. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a one year low of $39.31 and a one year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 36.95% and a net margin of 6.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

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.