BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Raises Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 156.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 333,077 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 203,192 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned approximately 0.14% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $15,118,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Ruffer LLP bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,381,000. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,601,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,513,000 after acquiring an additional 180,164 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,835,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,079,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Santander assumed coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Five investment 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Price Performance

PPC stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $54.58. 1,058,710 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,127,922. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.63. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 52 week low of $33.67 and a 52 week high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is a positive change from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd.

Pilgrim's Pride 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.