The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 12,485 Shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its stake in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 138,859 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,485 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $6,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PPC. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 325.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 55,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,485,000 after purchasing an additional 42,136 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP bought a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,381,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 30.0% during the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 58,289 shares of the company's stock worth $2,646,000 after acquiring an additional 13,459 shares in the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 28,587 shares of the company's stock worth $1,298,000 after acquiring an additional 12,149 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $249,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PPC. Santander initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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 research note on Monday, March 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim's Pride currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PPC traded down $0.70 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $46.37. The stock had a trading volume of 220,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,726. The company's 50 day moving average price is $51.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.01. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $33.70 and a twelve month high of $57.16. The firm has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 0.51.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.53 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. Pilgrim's Pride's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This is a boost from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

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.