UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Sells 13,274 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lowered its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 10.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,884 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,274 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $4,942,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 345.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 76,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,516,000 after purchasing an additional 59,228 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 72.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,516 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,319 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $1,501,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $118,000. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 14,724 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,448 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of PPC stock traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $46.97. The stock had a trading volume of 891,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,199,247. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 52-week low of $33.94 and a 52-week high of $57.16. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $50.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.48.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. Pilgrim's Pride's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $6.30 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Santander started coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.40.

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.