HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,307 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,043 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Perrigo were worth $342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Perrigo in the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Perrigo by 93.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of Perrigo by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Perrigo by 97.8% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,084 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Perrigo in the 4th quarter valued at $149,000. 95.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Ronald Craig Janish sold 7,800 shares of Perrigo stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 10th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $923,795.04. This trade represents a 18.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Perrigo Stock Performance

Shares of PRGO stock opened at $27.68 on Wednesday. Perrigo Company plc has a 52 week low of $23.14 and a 52 week high of $33.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $26.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.16. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.65 and a beta of 0.48.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. Perrigo had a negative net margin of 3.64% and a positive return on equity of 7.38%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 EPS for the current year.

Perrigo Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.19%. This is a positive change from Perrigo’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is -92.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on PRGO shares. Argus downgraded Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Perrigo from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $34.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Perrigo from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $33.00.

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.