Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,260,000 shares, a decrease of 18.1% from the August 31st total of 5,200,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,330,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PRGO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a report on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Perrigo from $36.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Perrigo has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

Insider Activity at Perrigo

In related news, EVP Svend Andersen sold 28,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.75, for a total transaction of $785,325.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,041,095.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Perrigo news, Director Katherine C. Doyle sold 8,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.30, for a total value of $244,444.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,045.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Svend Andersen sold 28,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.75, for a total value of $785,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 73,553 shares in the company, valued at $2,041,095.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,254 shares of company stock valued at $1,411,969. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perrigo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Perrigo in the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its position in shares of Perrigo by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 1,135,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,168,000 after purchasing an additional 3,545 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in shares of Perrigo in the 2nd quarter valued at $351,000. Clearline Capital LP boosted its position in Perrigo by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Clearline Capital LP now owns 1,830,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,005,000 after acquiring an additional 265,960 shares during the period. Finally, Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in Perrigo during the 2nd quarter worth about $629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

Perrigo Trading Up 0.1 %

PRGO stock traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $25.65. 1,489,798 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,016,741. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.68. Perrigo has a one year low of $24.82 and a one year high of $34.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.07. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 6.79% and a negative net margin of 2.81%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Perrigo will post 2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th were given a $0.276 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -1,571.43%.

About Perrigo

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.