Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

PRGO has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (down from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PRGO opened at $25.95 on Friday. Perrigo has a twelve month low of $23.89 and a twelve month high of $34.60. The company has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of -22.18 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $26.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.81. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. The business had revenue of $1.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Perrigo will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.276 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is presently -94.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total transaction of $497,495.46. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,912.43. This represents a 76.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perrigo

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PRGO. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 23.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,405,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,095,000 after acquiring an additional 264,647 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of Perrigo by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 119,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM bought a new position in shares of Perrigo in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,541,000. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 921,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,670,000 after buying an additional 3,829 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

Perrigo Company Profile

Perrigo Company plc provides over-the-counter health and wellness solutions to enhance individual well-being in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Consumer Self-Care Americas and Consumer Self-Care International segments. The company develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes self-care consumer products, such as upper respiratory products, including cough suppressants, expectorants, and sinus and allergy relief; nutrition products consisting of infant formulas and nutritional beverages; digestive health products, including antacids, anti-diarrheal, and anti-heartburn; pain and sleep-aids products comprising pain relievers and fever reducers; and oral care products, which include toothbrushes, toothbrush replacement heads, floss, flossers, whitening products, and toothbrush covers.