Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Shares Sold by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP lowered its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 42.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,737 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vestcor Inc raised its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 19,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 7,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 13,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $602,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 19,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $864,000 after purchasing an additional 585 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. Finally, Santander assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC opened at $49.23 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $50.12 and a 200-day moving average of $48.32. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.71. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $33.67 and a twelve month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is a boost from Pilgrim’s Pride’s previous special dividend of $2.75.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.