Bridgewater Associates LP Lowers Stock Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 69.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,949 shares of the company's stock after selling 18,127 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP's holdings in Pilgrim's Pride were worth $361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter worth $268,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 345.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 76,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,516,000 after acquiring an additional 59,228 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 881,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,620,000 after acquiring an additional 11,128 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at about $808,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $141,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PPC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Santander assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim's Pride presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $54.01 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.59. The stock has a market cap of $12.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 2.01, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a 12 month low of $33.67 and a 12 month high of $57.16.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

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

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.

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