Barclays PLC Grows Stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,502 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,268 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned about 0.09% of Perrigo worth $3,160,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Perrigo in the third quarter worth about $56,000. 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 worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Perrigo by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. now owns 5,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Perrigo during the third quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Perrigo during the 2nd quarter valued at $213,000. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Perrigo Stock Performance

PRGO opened at $25.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of -21.93 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 2.56 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $26.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.92. Perrigo Company plc has a 1 year low of $23.89 and a 1 year high of $34.60.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.81. The company had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.12 billion. Perrigo had a positive return on equity of 7.38% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. Perrigo’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -94.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.27, for a total value of $497,495.46. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of Perrigo in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, September 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.00.

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.