WINTON GROUP Ltd Trims Holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

WINTON GROUP Ltd lessened its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 80.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,607 shares of the company’s stock after selling 146,201 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PPC. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,233,961 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,310,000 after buying an additional 136,970 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,691,177 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,097,000 after purchasing an additional 72,446 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 734,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,319,000 after purchasing an additional 8,173 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 15.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 394,286 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,176,000 after purchasing an additional 52,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth $7,856,000. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Pilgrim’s Pride

In related news, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,892,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at $12,440,642.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Pilgrim’s Pride news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,241,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a 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 dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.50, for a total transaction of $2,892,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 279,565 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,440,642.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a report on Monday, August 12th. Barclays upped their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus raised their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Bank of America lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $47.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Four research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.80.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Down 2.2 %

PPC opened at $40.37 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $42.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.82. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 12 month low of $22.33 and a 12 month high of $47.44.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 25.06%. The company’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.79 earnings per share 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.