The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Holdings in Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC - Free Report) by 27.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 151,344 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,836 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of Pilgrim's Pride worth $6,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Pilgrim's Pride in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PPC. Bank of America cut Pilgrim's Pride from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upped their price objective on Pilgrim's Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens began coverage on Pilgrim's Pride in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Pilgrim's Pride from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $45.50.

Pilgrim's Pride Trading Down 0.8 %

Pilgrim's Pride stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $51.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 560,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,953. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.67 and a 200-day moving average of $43.16. The stock has a market cap of $12.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.95. Pilgrim's Pride Co. has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year high of $55.50.

Pilgrim's Pride (NASDAQ:PPC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.69 billion. Pilgrim's Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. Pilgrim's Pride's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Pilgrim's Pride Co. will post 4.91 EPS for the current year.

About Pilgrim's Pride

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation produces, processes, markets, and distributes fresh, frozen, and value-added chicken and pork products to retailers, distributors, and foodservice operators. The company offers fresh products, including refrigerated whole or cut-up chicken, selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated, primary pork cuts, added value pork, and pork ribs; and prepared products, which include fully cooked, ready-to-cook and individually frozen chicken parts, strips, nuggets and patties, processed sausages, bacon, smoked meat, gammon joints, pre-packed meats, sandwich and deli counter meats and meat balls.