American Century Companies Inc. Has $4.38 Million Position in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 535.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,785 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 95,878 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $4,380,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 13,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $510,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.6% in the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 11,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.2% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.6% in the second quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% during the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 31,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Barclays lifted their target price on Pilgrim’s Pride from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Argus increased their price target on Pilgrim’s Pride from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research 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 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pilgrim’s Pride

In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares in the company, valued at $2,241,292.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Matthew R. Galvanoni sold 6,500 shares of Pilgrim’s Pride stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.31, for a total transaction of $281,515.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 51,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,241,292.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Fabio Sandri sold 65,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 279,565 shares in the company, valued at $12,440,642.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 82.63% of the company’s stock.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $42.63 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $43.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.51. The company has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.21 and a beta of 0.82. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $22.33 and a twelve month high of $47.44.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Pilgrim’s Pride Co. will post 4.79 EPS 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.