Virtu Financial LLC Invests $909,000 in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO)

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 34,654 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $909,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Perrigo in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in 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. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Perrigo in the third quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Perrigo by 877.0% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $210,000 after buying an additional 7,358 shares during the last quarter. 95.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PRGO shares. StockNews.com raised Perrigo from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down from $50.00) on shares of Perrigo in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of Perrigo in a research note 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Perrigo news, Director Jeffrey B. Kindler sold 17,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 5,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,912.43. This 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 is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Perrigo Price Performance

Shares of PRGO opened at $27.45 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.56, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.97. Perrigo Company plc has a twelve month low of $23.89 and a twelve month high of $34.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of -23.46 and a beta of 0.52.

Perrigo (NYSE:PRGO) last announced 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 firm 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 posted $0.64 earnings per share. Perrigo’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Perrigo Company plc will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Perrigo Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.276 per share. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. Perrigo’s dividend payout ratio is currently -94.02%.

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.