US Bancorp DE Purchases 650 Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,445 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 295.8% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at $118,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,688 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PPC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 2nd. Santander initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $49.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 2.01 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $49.69 and a 200 day moving average of $48.18. The firm has a market cap of $11.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.71. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 1 year low of $33.25 and a 1 year 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $6.30 per share. This is an increase from Pilgrim’s Pride’s previous special dividend of $2.75.

Pilgrim’s Pride Company 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.