PAX Financial Group LLC Has $590,000 Stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

PAX Financial Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,988 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,821 shares during the quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 21,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 295.8% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 8.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,662,000 after buying an additional 2,682 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its position in Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.0% during the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 61,311 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,820,000 after buying an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in Pilgrim’s Pride during the 3rd quarter worth $4,989,000. 16.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PPC opened at $49.97 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.96 and a beta of 0.63. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a twelve month low of $33.67 and a twelve month high of $57.16. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.94.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $6.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This is a positive change from Pilgrim’s Pride’s previous special dividend of $2.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on PPC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 2nd. Santander assumed coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.33.

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.