Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 528,747 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,378 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.22% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $24,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim's Pride by 1,289.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,225,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,621,000 after acquiring an additional 4,849,147 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 903.9% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,455,513 shares of the company's stock worth $67,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 881,900 shares of the company's stock worth $40,620,000 after purchasing an additional 11,128 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 429,440 shares of the company's stock worth $19,492,000 after purchasing an additional 57,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim's Pride by 23.4% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 238,151 shares of the company's stock worth $10,967,000 after purchasing an additional 45,172 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.64% of the company's stock.

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Pilgrim's Pride Stock Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC traded down $2.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,453,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,038,084. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.01. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a fifty-two week low of $33.67 and a fifty-two week high of $57.16. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $50.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.30. The company has a market capitalization of $11.67 billion, a PE ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 0.71.

Pilgrim's Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $6.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Pilgrim's Pride's previous special dividend of $2.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on PPC. StockNews.com cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Santander started coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.