Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Shares Sold by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital cut its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,603 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,520 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $1,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ruffer LLP acquired a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $8,381,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 30.0% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 58,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,646,000 after buying an additional 13,459 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 28,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 12,149 shares during the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $249,000. Finally, Norden Group LLC lifted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 61.6% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 15,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 5,798 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on PPC shares. Santander started coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Down 1.1%

PPC stock opened at $46.97 on Monday. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 52 week low of $33.94 and a 52 week high of $57.16. The company has a market capitalization of $11.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.83. 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 (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $4.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. Pilgrim’s Pride’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given 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 of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd.

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.