Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 9,115 Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride Co. (NASDAQ:PPC) by 74.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,370 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,115 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride were worth $970,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PPC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Pilgrim’s Pride by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,113,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,119,000 after buying an additional 33,965 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,377,236 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,513,000 after acquiring an additional 180,164 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,125,329 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,079,000 after purchasing an additional 119,555 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Pilgrim’s Pride by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 897,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,761,000 after purchasing an additional 15,905 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Pilgrim’s Pride by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 849,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,549,000 after purchasing an additional 21,575 shares during the last quarter. 16.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pilgrim’s Pride Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ PPC opened at $54.01 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 0.63. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $52.39 and its 200 day moving average is $49.58. Pilgrim’s Pride Co. has a 52 week low of $33.67 and a 52 week high of $57.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 2.01.

Pilgrim’s Pride Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on PPC shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Pilgrim’s Pride from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Santander initiated coverage on shares of Pilgrim’s Pride in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Pilgrim’s Pride from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.40.

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.