US Bancorp DE Trims Stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

US Bancorp DE lowered its stake in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) by 77.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,135 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,882 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Perrigo were worth $81,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Perrigo in the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Perrigo by 25.1% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Perrigo in the third quarter valued at $7,111,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Perrigo by 94.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 151,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,974,000 after buying an additional 73,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Perrigo by 347.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 145,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,731,000 after buying an additional 112,929 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 95.91% of the company’s stock.

Perrigo Stock Performance

Shares of PRGO stock opened at $28.27 on Tuesday. Perrigo Company plc has a 52 week low of $23.14 and a 52 week high of $33.46. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of -24.16 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.16.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Perrigo’s payout ratio is presently -92.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.44, for a total value of $214,032.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 33,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $923,795.04. The trade was a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PRGO. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Argus cut shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

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.