Verition Fund Management LLC Trims Position in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Verition Fund Management LLC lowered its position in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) by 75.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,941 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,013 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Perrigo were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning raised its position in Perrigo by 3.7% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 18,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Perrigo by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $974,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Perrigo by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRGO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down previously from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 target price on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Monday, September 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.00.

Perrigo Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of PRGO stock opened at $27.45 on Monday. Perrigo Company plc has a fifty-two week low of $23.89 and a fifty-two week high of $34.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.97.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting 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 business had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.276 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -94.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 approximately $152,912.43. This trade represents a 76.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Perrigo 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.