MML Investors Services LLC Acquires Shares of 5,821 Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

MML Investors Services LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,821 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1,289.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 5,225,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,621,000 after purchasing an additional 4,849,147 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 903.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,455,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,026,000 after buying an additional 1,310,530 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 145,879.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 827,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,116,000 after acquiring an additional 827,134 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 366.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 638,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,320,000 after acquiring an additional 501,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 88.3% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 433,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,981,000 after purchasing an additional 203,408 shares during the period. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PPC has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of 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. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $45.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.50.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $46.30 on Thursday. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $26.52 and a twelve month high of $55.50. The stock has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.20 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $49.68 and its 200-day moving average is $44.51.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The company reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.36. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 29.92% and a net margin of 5.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 5.12 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Profile

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.