Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Perrigo has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.00.

Perrigo Price Performance

Perrigo stock opened at $24.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of -20.86 and a beta of 0.53. Perrigo has a 12-month low of $23.89 and a 12-month high of $33.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $26.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94.

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

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.276 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.52%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is presently -94.02%.

Insider Activity at Perrigo

In related news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,912.43. This trade represents a 76.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Perrigo

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Perrigo by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,162,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,935,000 after acquiring an additional 249,640 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its position in shares of Perrigo by 11.2% during the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 3,882,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,701,000 after purchasing an additional 391,646 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 229.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,697,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,761,000 after purchasing an additional 1,878,145 shares during the last quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Perrigo by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,482,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,117,000 after purchasing an additional 465,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc. CT boosted its position in shares of Perrigo by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc. CT now owns 2,391,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,402,000 after purchasing an additional 117,230 shares in the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.