Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Shares Sold by Martingale Asset Management L P

Martingale Asset Management L P lowered its position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 229,414 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,737 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $10,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 295.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 132.1% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at about $118,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ PPC opened at $50.37 on Thursday. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 52 week low of $33.67 and a 52 week high of $57.16. 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 stock has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.20.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PPC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Santander assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.33.

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.