Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on PRGO. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Perrigo from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Perrigo from $48.00 to $41.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a buy rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Perrigo in a report on Friday, April 12th.

Perrigo Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of PRGO traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $29.83. 1,273,144 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,767,981. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a PE ratio of -428.57 and a beta of 0.63. Perrigo has a 1-year low of $25.77 and a 1-year high of $40.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.81, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.16 and a 200-day moving average of $30.99.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last posted its earnings results on Saturday, May 4th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 6.96% and a negative net margin of 0.17%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Perrigo will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, May 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.276 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -1,571.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Perrigo news, CEO Patrick Lockwood-Taylor acquired 9,500 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.54 per share, for a total transaction of $252,130.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $544,070. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Perrigo news, CEO Patrick Lockwood-Taylor bought 9,500 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.54 per share, for a total transaction of $252,130.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 20,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $544,070. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Willis bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.87 per share, for a total transaction of $155,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,105 shares in the company, valued at $649,466.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 17,990 shares of company stock worth $475,227 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Perrigo

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Perrigo by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,994,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,517,000 after buying an additional 91,322 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in Perrigo by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 3,449,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,035,000 after acquiring an additional 317,552 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia increased its stake in Perrigo by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 2,818,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,050,000 after buying an additional 30,239 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 20.5% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 2,780,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,490,000 after purchasing an additional 472,245 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its holdings in Perrigo by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 2,643,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,080,000 after acquiring an additional 340,266 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.