Marshall Wace LLP Grows Position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 318,688 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 129,256 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $12,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.6% during the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 11,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 31,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,892,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,440,642.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,892,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at $12,440,642.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total value of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,292.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of PPC stock opened at $44.06 on Friday. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.33 and a fifty-two week high of $47.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.66.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.35. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 25.06%. The company had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. Pilgrim’s Pride’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Argus upped their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.80.

Pilgrim’s Pride Profile

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. The company offers fresh products, including refrigerated whole or cut-up chicken, selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated, primary pork cuts, added value pork, and pork ribs; and prepared products, which include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, processed sausages, bacon, smoked meat, gammon joints, pre-packed meats, sandwich and deli counter meats and meat balls.