Marfrig Alimentos SA (MRFG3) founder and Chief Executive Officer Marcos Antonio Molina boosted his stake in the company for a fifth consecutive month.

Molina increased his stake to 48.8 percent in July from 48.6 percent a month earlier, according to a statement yesterday. Since February, he has spent about 74.6 million reais ($37 million) buying shares, according to previous regulatory filings. He held 43.5 percent of the company a year ago.

Marfrig shares dropped 41 percent in the past two years, more than the 12 percent slide of the Bovespa stock index.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucia Kassai in Sao Paulo at lkassai@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Attwood at jattwood3@bloomberg.net