Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation $PPC Shares Sold by Envestnet Asset Management Inc.

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC) by 37.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,268 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $1,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.4% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 49,270 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,216,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 17,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 9,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 43,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,956,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pilgrim’s Pride Trading Up 4.1%

Pilgrim’s Pride stock opened at $43.16 on Friday. Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation has a 52-week low of $35.73 and a 52-week high of $56.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.85.

Pilgrim’s Pride (NASDAQ:PPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.14). Pilgrim’s Pride had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 35.15%. The business had revenue of $4.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation will post 5.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PPC. Zacks Research downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Santander raised Pilgrim’s Pride from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Wall Street Zen lowered Pilgrim’s Pride from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pilgrim’s Pride has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.33.

Pilgrim’s Pride Profile

Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation is a leading poultry producer in the United States and Mexico and a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS SA Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, and Pittsburg, Texas, the company specializes in the production, processing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products. Pilgrim’s Pride serves a diverse customer base that includes retail grocery chains, foodservice distributors and restaurant operators across North America and in select international markets.

The company’s vertically integrated operations encompass breeding, hatching, feed milling, processing plants and cold storage facilities.