Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $12.85 Million Position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 32.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 283,092 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 69,566 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $12,850,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,307 shares of the company's stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,207 shares of the company's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 19,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,642 shares of the company's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,445 shares of the company's stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of PPC stock traded up $0.32 on Tuesday, hitting $46.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,124,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,170,296. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 52-week low of $33.70 and a 52-week high of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 0.51. The stock's 50 day moving average is $51.33 and its 200-day moving average is $50.17.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is an increase from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Pilgrim's Pride Company 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.