Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 897,805 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,905 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $40,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPC. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 132.1% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $118,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company's stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $141,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on PPC shares. Santander assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

Shares of Pilgrim's Pride stock traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $54.01. The stock had a trading volume of 879,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,124,983. The business's 50 day moving average is $52.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.63. The company has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.63. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 1 year low of $33.67 and a 1 year 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.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is a positive change from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd.

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.