Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Shares Acquired by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,125,329 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 119,555 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.47% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $51,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PPC. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 132.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride in the 4th quarter worth approximately $118,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Pilgrim's Pride by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Pilgrim's Pride in the third quarter worth about $141,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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 began coverage on shares of Pilgrim's Pride in a research note 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 report on Sunday, March 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.40.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ PPC traded up $0.67 on Friday, reaching $54.01. 879,853 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,122,653. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.63. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.67 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16. The business's fifty day moving average price is $52.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.58. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is an increase 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.