Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $2.66 Million in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 58,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,664,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PPC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,888 shares of the company's stock worth $232,119,000 after buying an additional 33,965 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,513,000 after purchasing an additional 180,164 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,079,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 897,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,761,000 after purchasing an additional 15,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Pilgrim's Pride by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 849,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $38,549,000 after purchasing an additional 21,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Up 1.3 %

PPC stock opened at $53.98 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.63. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $33.67 and a 12 month high of $57.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $52.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.03.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $6.30 dividend. 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.

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