Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Perrigo from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Perrigo from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Perrigo currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.00.

Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of PRGO opened at $22.28 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.52. Perrigo has a fifty-two week low of $20.51 and a fifty-two week high of $30.93. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -38.41 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.59 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 9.09% and a negative net margin of 1.86%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Perrigo will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is presently -200.00%.

Insider Transactions at Perrigo

In other news, Director Geoffrey M. Parker acquired 4,375 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.97 per share, for a total transaction of $100,493.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,287 shares in the company, valued at $764,602.39. The trade was a 15.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Willis bought 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.10 per share, for a total transaction of $35,860.80. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president owned 41,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,010,729.90. This trade represents a 3.68% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 10,118 shares of company stock worth $232,699. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Perrigo

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PRGO. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Perrigo by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 32,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $916,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Perrigo by 54.6% in the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Perrigo by 2.8% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 15,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Perrigo by 11.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Perrigo by 1.4% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 42,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,130,000 after buying an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.