Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Shares Bought by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 36.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 383,752 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 103,302 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned approximately 0.16% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $17,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 345.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 76,364 shares of the company's stock worth $3,516,000 after purchasing an additional 59,228 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 325.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 55,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,485,000 after buying an additional 42,136 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,994 shares of the company's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,210,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Santander began coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Up 4.2%

PPC stock traded up $2.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.79. The stock had a trading volume of 237,478 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,176,705. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 1-year low of $33.70 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. The company has a market capitalization of $12.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.16.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a net margin of 6.08% and a return on equity of 32.83%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $6.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This is an increase from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

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.