Blue Trust Inc. Grows Holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 34.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,197 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 825 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $147,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PPC. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 11,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $522,000 after acquiring an additional 1,914 shares during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 408.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 104,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,813,000 after acquiring an additional 83,964 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Finally, FCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the third quarter worth approximately $1,314,000. Institutional investors own 16.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Pilgrim’s Pride

In related news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total value of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,241,292.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total value of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,292.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total value of $2,892,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,440,642.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 82.63% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PPC. Stephens began coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $43.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus raised their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:PPC opened at $46.21 on Monday. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 1 year low of $23.97 and a 1 year high of $49.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $44.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.28.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.35. Pilgrim’s Pride had a return on equity of 25.06% and a net margin of 4.25%. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.