Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,752 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 943 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $715,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PPC. Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 4th quarter valued at about $8,381,000. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride during the fourth quarter worth $8,601,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,513,000 after acquiring an additional 180,164 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 4th quarter valued at $7,835,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in the 3rd quarter worth $4,989,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Santander assumed coverage on Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pilgrim’s Pride has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ PPC opened at $51.06 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $51.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.88. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 1 year low of $33.67 and a 1 year high of $57.16. 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 market cap of $12.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.63.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $6.30 dividend. This is a boost from Pilgrim’s Pride’s previous special dividend of $2.75. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd.

About Pilgrim’s Pride

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.