Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Trims Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC reduced its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 29.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,329 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,316 shares during the quarter. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 345.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 76,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,516,000 after purchasing an additional 59,228 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 325.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 55,071 shares of the company's stock worth $2,485,000 after buying an additional 42,136 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 34.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter worth $1,210,000. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter valued at $216,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NASDAQ PPC traded down $1.55 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $49.36. 292,615 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,362,156. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 0.51. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 1 year low of $33.70 and a 1 year high of $57.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.88 and a 200 day moving average of $50.17.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 32.83% and a net margin of 6.08%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. On average, 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 business also recently disclosed a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Santander assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.40.

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.