Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD)

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Smithfield Foods (NASDAQ:SFD) in a research note released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock.

Smithfield Foods Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of SFD opened at $21.34 on Monday. Smithfield Foods has a 52 week low of $19.10 and a 52 week high of $22.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Tennille J. Checkovich bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.00 per share, for a total transaction of $40,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $240,000. This trade represents a 20.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Group Ltd/Adr Wh sold 2,506,936 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $50,138,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 364,518,817 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,290,376,340. This trade represents a 0.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 59,000 shares of company stock worth $1,180,000. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods, Inc produces and markets a variety of fresh meat and packaged meats products both domestically and internationally. The Company operates in four segments: Pork, Hog Production, International and Corporate, each of which consists of a number of subsidiaries, joint ventures and other investments.