Northern Trust Corp Purchases 141,745 Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation $PPC

Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 36.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 525,497 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 141,745 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.22% of Pilgrim’s Pride worth $28,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 102.0% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 16,381 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 827,381 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,845,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,766,000 after purchasing an additional 389,967 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,070,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,374,000 after purchasing an additional 221,617 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,430,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc acquired a new stake in Pilgrim’s Pride in the 1st quarter worth approximately $11,125,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Price Performance

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $44.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.20. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a 1-year low of $40.09 and a 1-year high of $57.16.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.62 billion. Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 6.81% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 EPS for the current year.

Pilgrim’s Pride Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 20th will be issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 20th.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PPC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

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.