State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 127,555 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 96.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,638 shares of the company's stock after selling 127,555 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PPC. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,381 shares of the company's stock valued at $744,000 after buying an additional 827,381 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised 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 buying an additional 576,438 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 26.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 389,967 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 156.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 203,192 shares during the period. Finally, Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at $8,381,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Performance

PPC stock opened at $44.56 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $48.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.32. Pilgrim's Pride Corporation has a 12-month low of $37.28 and a 12-month high of $57.16. The firm has a market cap of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 36.95% and a net margin of 6.72%. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pilgrim's Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PPC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Santander started coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.67.

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.

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